ABSTRACT
Despite German origins, Tobias Matthay remains paramount in the field of English pedagogy. English-born and English-trained, he directly influenced a generation of pianists, notably Myra Hess, Clifford Curzon and Harriet Cohen and indirectly influenced a second generation through the teaching of his pupils. Although Matthay's influence was very pervasive, there were a few twentieth-century English pianists who escaped it. Another important pedagogue resident in London was Clara Schumann pupil Mathilde Verne, who, like Matthay, ran her own school of piano playing. Moura Lympany wrote of Mathilde Verne's insistence that her pupil should play the Schumann piano concerto exactly as written thereby avoiding emotional excess. It appears that a sound technical training was perceived by critics when listening to the aforementioned pianists. Tone production, in most cases, was a fundamental part of the aforementioned pianists' training, and good quality tone was sought.
