Pianist & piano teacher
"Her virtuosity was never less then sparkling,and the lyrical and quieter moments were very special"
A.Quartermain,"Essex Standard"
"...with characteristic Schubertian luminosity, she displays unusual, expressive force favouring a more powerful Schubert."
Diario de Noticias de Navarra
Biography
Aida M. Gavrilova
Aida was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina where she began her professional training as a pianist. Having won the national Youth Competition at the age of 16,while she was still a student of Yokut Mikhailovich, Aida was subsequently awarded a scholarship to study at the Moscow Conservatoire ”P.I. Tschaikovsky”. In Moscow her teachers were B.A Romanov, B.B. Bechteryev and the late Y.E. Milstein. During her time at the Conservatoire, Aida gave numerous recitals in her native country and the former Soviet Union, as well as broadcasts on Yugoslavian radio and TV.
She graduated with top honours in 1984 and moved to London, where she continued her studies with James Gibb. During her studies at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama she was recipient of many scholarships, most notably the prestigious Myra Hess Award. After completing her studies, she was invited to teach at the same school (Junior Department) where her pupils were highly successful, winning scholarships and prizes throughout the country. She also worked at Trinity College of Music and Colchester Institute, and has been involved in music education ever since. Aida took part in Puigcerda International Music Festival , Mendigorria Music Festival in Spain and Verdiere in France where she, apart from appearing as a soloist, coached piano students from Spain ,Russia, USA, Taiwan and Japan.
During her stay in London (1984-2001), Aida became an established soloist and chamber musician, performing both in the UK and abroad(France, Austria, Spain, Norway), making appearances at venues which include The Royal Academy of music, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Holliwell Room in Oxford etc.
Aida appeared as a soloist with Colchester Symphony Orchestra and Sarajevo Philarmonic and played with violinists Jeannie Wells Yablonsky, Tatjana Grubich Goldberg and Nigel Goldberg. She recorded piano works by a British composer Alan Langford-CD released in 2000.
Since her arrival in Spain, she has performed with the choir of "El Palau de la musica" in Auditorio de Lleida(conductor J.Casas) and Auditorio de Zaragoza(with Taciana Gomez Malet,flauta).
Teaching
Aida has been teaching actively for almost 20 years, both privately and in music schools. Her main areas of proven expertise are very young beginners as well as more advanced students.
From a very early stage ( complete beginners, from 5 y. o. onwards) Aida’s goals are to spark and sustain interest in interpretation, as well as to cultivate imagination. A sense of humour and fun are absolutely vital.
In her own words:”Hardly any child at that age decides they want to become a professional pianist. I am able to tap into that inner desire by making things simple and enjoyable. What would be the point of making it difficult and serious for both pupil and the teacher?” She uses a range of different methods, depending on the child’s character and the shape and size of their hand. ”There is so much fantastic contemporary material to accommodate almost any child who wishes to play piano , there is no need to limit resources to boring little exercises”.
Having been trained in the tradition of the Russian school , where a secure technique, projecting “cantabile” , complete freedom of arms and absolute self-discipline are of a vital importance, on a higher level ,Aida does believe in more or less “traditional” teaching approach, while still insisting on students’ personal attitude to interpretation.
Being familiar with all stages of a young pianist’s development, Aida has been in demand giving master classes in Spain and abroad.
Projects
Whilst on a visit to an orphanage in her home town of Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006, Aida had the idea to start a music project. This came about after speaking with Meliha Dropic, the founder and conductor of the orphanage children’s choir. Some of the children expressed an interest in taking music lessons, and as Aida had an old upright piano that she was no longer using, she decided to donate her instrument to the children. As she was visiting on holiday, she only had enough time to start the children off with a few initial lessons, and there then followed a search for an adequate teacher who could carry on when she left: it had to be somebody with a lot of patience and familiar with the Bastien method, still unknown in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was necessary as the children don’t have the conditions to practise every day, due to the fact that there is only one instrument, and it is situated in the library which is used for various other events.
After three years, four children out of the original six who started playing in 2006, continue to learn the piano, and the project is now partly financed by Dandelion Trust from England. The idea is to expand this project to other orphanages in Bosnia and Herzegovina. If you would like to help with monetary contributions, used music (books, sheet music, CDs) or have any other suggestions please get in touch.
Due to regretful circumstances of the management and the logistics, the project was closed in October 2011.Should you want to make any suggestions about the future of the project that would possibly improve any aspect related to the running and delivery of the operation , Aida would be delighted to hear from you.
Seminars
The piano seminars created by Aida are aimed at teachers with little or no teaching experience, as well as those who would like to refresh their methods.
In some countries, certain music schools still insist on outdated curriculums, which supposedly make children play “correctly”. It is not surprising then that children often stop playing after barely a year of tuition, complaining that it’s boring and difficult.
In her own words: ”“As a young teacher I was extremely frustrated with children who never practised, forgetting that as a young child I wasn’t exactly a very diligent pupil either....we are not born with a sense of self-discipline nor can we imagine how wonderful it is to be able to express oneself through music once we master an instrument.....there will always be pupils who make slow progress, but I would rather emphasize the word “progress” than “slow” “
Some of the subjects discussed in the seminar are:
1) Do pupils have to learn how to read music before playing?
2) How do we teach children with bad co-ordination?
3) How to teach pupils to cope with stage-fright?
4) When can we start “extending” a hand out of a five-finger position?
5) How do we get a pupil to enjoy performing?
Interpretation and technical problems (stiff wrists, the use of pedal, sound projection, cantabile, the use of fourth and fifth fingers in chords and octaves) are tackled on a higher level, bearing in mind the most important goal-enjoying playing!
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