Starting this September Horacio Gutiérrez will mentor a new generation of pianists at the Manhattan School of Music. Here are some of his thoughts about what teaching means to him:
Why I Teach
I think teaching music is one of the most important ways to preserve and reimagine the knowledge and traditions from the past. The art of the performing arts is a very difficult, singular one. What we do as performers happens within a definite period of time, in the presence of an audience. It is not a novel, or a painting that can be read or looked at whenever one is inclined to. It cannot be repeated exactly the same way again. Those who want to achieve the greatest heights in this art know that the balance of physical, intellectual, and expressive possibilities are always at the service of the composer, no matter how original the approach. I think a good teacher will try to make the young artist aware of these expressive possibilities, help him or her understand the intention of the composer at a deeper level than before, and make it possible, through the teacher’s experience and command of the instrument, for the process to be easier and more rewarding. One of my greatest rewards as a teacher is the smile of surprise and delight I see when a young pianist realizes something that will open the door to other rooms, to other questions, to other answers. Finally, and most importantly, I feel that a teacher should inspire and remind the young musician of the joy and privilege it is to keep company with these works of art that the great composers have left us.
I have taught at Houston University as the M.D. Anderson Distinguished Professor of Music from 1996 to 2003, and at the Manhattan School of Music from 2004 to 2009. I have also given Master Classes at Ravinia’s Summer Festival, the Oberlin Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Manhattan School of Music; and, in the summer of 2014, I will be giving Master Classes in Oxford, England at the International Piano Festival and Music Academy, sponsored by Oxford Philomusica. And now, I am very happy to be rejoining the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music in the fall of 2014, where I hold many wonderful memories of the young artists I was fortunate to teach.
Horacio Gutiérrez (2014)