Imaginative Visions and Musical Communication: A Critical Examination of the Piano Pedagiogical Approach of Eleonora Sivan (b. 1941) as applied to the Preludes Op.34 of Dmitri Shostakovich

Abstract

The current study is the first scholarly investigation of the pedagogical methodology of Eleonora Sivan (b.1941), whose teaching has had cascading influence, and was brought to an international audience through Anna Goldsworthy’s memoir, Piano Lessons. Sivan’s approach fosters creative learning through nurturing fantasy and imagination, while advancing the logical realisation of musical ideas. The study critically examines Sivan’s approach in the context of the spectrum of literature that embraces educational and learning theories, and includes the perspectives of pedagogues, performers, composers, and musicologists. The study developed a research methodology to investigate how a teacher’s fundamental principles and strategies can be articulated, developed, and evaluated in the learning environment. It is not a social-science experiment, but rather, a subjective investigation of Sivan’s teaching methodology, and more suitably described as “case-studies". The study extends the available research tools beyond the standard questionnaires, surveys, observations, and interviews to include a new software program to enhance the qualitative analysis of the case-studies. This research tool articulated the musical parameters within Sivan’s approach and underpinned consistency during the lessons. The research project applied Sivan’s methodologies and observed their impact, especially noting the immediate responses of the student cohort. Ten students of approximately Seventh Grade Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) level and aged between ten and eighteen years and from ten different teachers, received ten one-hour individual lessons. Every student learnt Prelude No.1 from Shostakovich’s Preludes Op.34 along with a second Prelude from the Opus, (No.2, 15, 16, 19 or 24). The data collected lay the foundation for an extensive investigation of Sivan’s approach in the context of the literature and offer important insights into the development of each individual students’ musical expertise. The thesis analyses the results of the study, focusing on the observations of the teacher-researcher, and the students’ verbal and non-verbal responses to the approach. From the research, it is argued that Sivan’s pedagogical approach not only provides practical strategies for Creative Teaching but also that these strategies can empower students in their capacity for Creative Learning. It is argued that the approach nurtures the students’ musical engagement, establishes logical foundations for imaginative interpretation, and ultimately facilitates individual musical communication of the score.