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Re: Russianoff's students

Author: David Niethamer
Date: 2011-09-05 02:16

Those of you interested in Russianoff may be interested to read Stephen Clark's dissertation "Leon Russianoff: Clarinet Pedagogue." It gives a biography of Russianoff and how Leon felt his life related to his teaching style. Clark also interviewed five Russianoff students about his teaching style - very interesting. The dissertaion is available from ProQuest through their Dissertation Express service. A PDF copy costs $37.

I studied with Leon for three years in the mid '70's. We had a lot of battles over how to play the clarinet, because I wasn't smart enough to respect his knowledge and practical experience as a successful teacher. After I got my job in Richmond, I thanked Russianoff every week for 23 years for giving me the tools to do my job successfully - he was a wonderful, patient (especially in my case!!) teacher. One of his best characteristics was teaching you to solve your own problems. Another equally important aspect of his teaching was to poke holes in all the preconceived notions you might have about playing the clarinet. As others have said, he didn't create clones. He brought out the potential in each student.

When he died in 1991, it was a very sad day for me.

David
niethamer@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/index.html

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Russianoff's students new

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2011-09-02 04:30