Metodica Predarii Pianului (Piano Pedagogy)

Gina Solomon

(17 ianuarie, 1901, Roman - 1 aprilie, 1987, Bucuresti, Romania)

O cariera indelungata ca profesoara de pian la Liceul de Muzica nr. 1 din Bucuresti. Succese deosebite de-a lungul multor generatii de elevi - participanti si castigatori la concursuri internationale de prestigiu, absolventi cu succes al Conservatorului si apoi multi continuand cu cariere muzicale.

Gina Solomon si-a educat copiii si elevii in spiritul exigentei, vointei, disciplinei, respectului pentru desavarsire in profesiune, edificarii prin cultura multilaterala si sensibilitate a actului de creatie. A format generatii de tineri muzicieni, conducand multe talente pe calea spre valoare umana si performanta artistica. A publicat culegeri didactice, precum si cartea aceasta, Metodica Predarii Pianului. In interpretarile sale au rasunat lucrari de mare forta emotionala. Si-a consacrat intreaga viata de munca tenace familiei si muzicii, imbinand severitatea si dinamismul cu grija parinteasca, duiosia si devotamentul generos.

Testimonial from former student Zitta Zohar (Finkelstein), who was Gina Solomon's student from 4 to 18 years of age, and who went on to study on full scholarship at Juilliard and to have a successful career as a New York-based, world-renowned pianist and piano mentor:

Gina Solomon

An unusual presence, with both energy and warmth, predicating a wide knowledge with humility, strong discipline with permission of artistic freedom, always directed by a compass of highest integrity.

I have spent my childhood and teenage years under her tutelage. She offered almost parental love and I offered continuous rebellion.

How she put up with all my antics remains to this day an unanswered question!

In an era where finding research materials for her book was rather impossible, - unless strongly colored by communist doctrine - patiently and painstakingly, she found materials in support of her own musical and technical beliefs, always adding her own point of view.

The devotion she had to her own truths, the faith she kept in her own students, coupled with the deep trust in her own ability to develop any seeds of greatness she found in them, made her an unforgettable influence in the lives of her many students. 

The days when a piece was almost ready, we were allowed to play on the "big" piano in her studio. 

For the occasion she would invite her wonderful husband ("Jeanu", as she used to call him), to come and listen.

The silence they provided, for the sounds to give birth, the eyes filled with tears at the end, have remained the mystic goal for a powerful performance.

No words, just unforgettable equalizing acknowledgement from soul to soul.

March 2019