French violinist Prof. Gerard Poulet guest lectured at TNUA for two weeks in October, giving Maestro Talks, working with students in one-on-one sessions, and delighting audiences with two concerts.
Prof. Poulet stressed that hard work must be invested in honing basic skills, but attitude is also very important. He said there is no shortcut to learning to play the violin, and success and achievements all depend on hard work, willingness to change and determination.
For each piece of music to be performed, Prof. Poulet said it will take at least half a year of practice and preparation. He said a performer must first understand the work and what messages the composer wants to convey.The performer then digests it using his or her own experience and wisdom, and interprets it through the instrument, which is the way of real performance, he said.
The 72-year-old maestro shows devotion to teaching students. During his two-week stay, he arranged one-on-one sessions with four to six string students for four hours each night. Those students also presented what they had learnt from Prof. Poulet by holding a concert on Oct. 28. He lauded TNUA’s music students for their overall quality, and he asked students to bravely accept challenges and keep working hard.
Prof. Poulet, as a guest of honor to the Kuandu Arts Festival, also offered two concerts on Oct. 29 and 30 together with the TNUA Orchestra, as well as pianist Ms. Yori Kawashima. They charmed the full houses with works by Grieg, Beethoven, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Dvorak, and Richard Strauss.