On December 31st 2018, the string world received the sad news that Kato Havas had passed away. Kato was an inspiration to many generations of violinists, leaving behind a legacy of knowledge and wisdom with regards to string playing that can be handed down to future generations. But who was Kato and why was she such an important figure in the world of string teaching?  

Kato Havas was born on the 5th November 1920 in the tiny village Târgu Secuiesc, Transylvania among the Carpathian Mountains, on the Romanian Hungarian border. Having been introduced to the instrument at the age of five, she soon showed an immense natural talent for the instrument. Havas learnt to read music before she could read words, her first teacher making her sing every piece with note names whilst clapping the pulse before playing it (much later she realised that she had been taught the Kodály system). By the age of seven, she had already given her first professional recital. This recital, in Kolozsvár (Cluj), included Brahms’s Hungarian Dances and Franz Schubert of Dresden’s The Bee, Op 13.

The Hungarian style

Kato had a strong affinity with the Hungarian gypsy violin style. In her words, this began ‘before I could even talk.’  She often told the tale of how, aged 9, while staying with friends, she dressed as a gypsy child, begging the guests to allow her to play a few tunes, telling them that her family were sick and dependent on her to provide for them. Later she owned up to the deception, but when she tried to return the money she had collected, the guests had enjoyed her playing so much they refused to take the money back. Kato often described this as her first professional fee.

The violinist Emil Telmányi heard her play and was so impressed that he arranged for her to study with Imre Waldbauer at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Imre was the first violinist of the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet and gave Kato the traditional virtuoso violin training of the period. Whilst a student, Kato was fortunate enough to meet Bartók, Kodály and Dohnányi.  All three composers turned up to watch her first recital at the Academy. It was during her time at the Academy that the pressure of performances began to affect her playing physically.

The roots of the ‘New Approach’

When, aged seventeen, Kato gave her Carnegie Hall debut in New York, she became acutely aware of the link between the mental state and performance quality of a performer. ‘My violin went into a sulk and so did my left hand,’ she recalled of her time in America. Luckily the Hungarian–American conductor Eugene Ormandy introduced her to the violinist David Mendoza, who in turn introduced her to the natural left-hand motion. This, along with the playing style of the Hungarian gypsy violinists had a profound influence on her the development of the ‘New Approach’.

Most child prodigies find a period out of the public eye essential if they are to achieve maturity as an artist, but for Kato Havas, this happened quite naturally.  She married at eighteen and while concentrating on bringing up her three daughters, her professional life naturally ceased. It was during this period of enforced removal that she evolved her revolutionary method of teaching.

The Teacher

A magnetic teacher, Havas found herself lecturing at Oxford University, gave talks and demonstrations on television, and travelled the world delivering as a series of lecture demonstrations.  Kato was also the founder and director of the Purbeck Music Festival in Dorset, the Roehampton Music Festival in London and the International Festival in her adopted home town of Oxford.

Recognition

Kato Havas received many accolades. In 1992, the American String Teachers Association’s International Award in recognition of her “unparalleled achievements”; in 2002, the Order of the British Empire for services to music; finally, in 2013, the European Teachers’ Association presented Kato Havas with its Award “in celebration of a life-long contribution to music”.

Legacy

Kato Havas’ biggest legacy to the world of string playing is her ‘New Approach’. In this, she explores problems inherent in string playing, demonstrating ways of dealing with them based on the theory of understanding ‘inward-to-outward energy impulses’.  In it, she emphasises a sense of well-being, in both physical balance and mental attitude. Through active rhythmic pulse and the sensation of having no violin or bow “hold,’’ players experience a newfound sense of freedom. ‘Two right arm motions or swings encompass all “bow strokes,” and balanced and dancing left-hand movements responsible for tone quality, intonation, vibrato, free string players from anxiety about shifts, double-stops, and string crossings’. The New Approach is a highly organised system, preventing and eliminating tensions and anxieties whilst highlighting the physical, mental and social aspects of performance with special reference to violin playing, although these principles can be applied equally to any other instrument.  The approach concentrates on unifying mind, body and spirit; coordinating the natural balance of the body into a powerful and effortless whole.

Kato Havas’ books have long been translated into Chinese, German, Spanish, Swedish, Czech, Hungarian, Japanese, Italian and Dutch.

Kato Havas was a strong supporter of ESTA UK and a great advocate for the correct training of those wanting to embark upon a career in string teaching. If you are interested in a career in string teaching, why not look to ESTA UK to see what training options are available to maximise your potential in the profession. Visit www.estastrings.org.uk or www.estaeducation.co.uk for more details.

Nannie Jamieson and the Nutshell Fund

It is probably safe to say that without the hard work and dedication of Nannie Jamieson, the UK branch of ESTA would not have been as successful as it now is. The foundations she created have proved excellent for future generations of ESTA UK officers to build upon, and she would no doubt be proud of all they have achieved. Nannie was, by all accounts a formidable character and her memory lives on not only through ESTA UK but also in the Nutshell Fund, a source of funding that has helped many string teachers enhance their careers through enabling their attendance on courses and individual lessons. Whether you are thinking of attending the ESTA Summer School in 2019, attending any other string teaching courses or even contemplating some individual study with a specialist teacher, it is worth your while finding out more about Nannie Jamieson, what she stood for and her legacy.   

Nannie in a Nutshell

Nannie Jamieson (1904-1990) had a persona that was, to all intents and purposes, ageless. She had a character that was truly larger than life; generous, critical, impulsive, self-questioning, wanting the best from everyone and never suffering fools gladly. As her niece, Kate Beresford put it ‘She lived life in the fast lane long before the phrase had been invented!’ (The Red Hot Magnet pub ESTA page 4). Nannie was born in Edinburgh in 1904 and was first introduced to music by her viola playing mother, Ann. Her first teacher was James Winram, followed shortly by Esther Cruikshank and Gladys Clark until she went abroad to continue her musical education at the recommendation of Donald Tovey. The violinist, Alma Moodie made all the final arrangements and Nannie ended up staying in Germany for ten years. During her time in Berlin, Nannie studied with Joseph Wolfsthal and Carl Flesch, but the teacher to whom she perhaps owes the most is Max Rostal. Max gave Nannie violin and chamber music lessons in return for her teaching him the basics of the English language.  Berlin was an exciting place to be in the late 1920s and early 1930s; but when the climate of the city changed in the years preceding the Second World War, it was Nannie, with the aid of her parents, that were instrumental in helping Rostal out of Germany and away from the Nazi persecution. Nannie was later to become the representative of Max’s method in Britain.

Professional life

Nannie’s professional life started upon her return to England with an appointment to teach violin in 1935 at Dartington Hall, where in 1939 the Robert Masters Piano Quartet was formed – Robert Masters, violin; Nannie Jamieson, viola; Muriel Taylor, cello; Kinloch Anderson, piano. It was soon attracting favourable attention for its repertoire, stretching from Mozart to Herbert Howells, and was heard at the Wigmore Hall and, after the war, the Edinburgh Festival. The quartet gave several performances of chamber music by the English composer William Wordsworth, and undertook three world tours. During the war, Nannie was also an active performer for CEMA (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts) and ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association), also performing in the National Gallery Concerts set up by Myra Hess. After the war there followed playing work with Yehudi Menuhin in the Bath Festival Orchestra, the Menuhin Festival Orchestra, the Thames Chamber Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. There was also from 1946, a long tenure as a teacher at the Guildhall School of Music, where she gained her Fellowship in 1956; and periods teaching at Chetham’s School, Manchester and Homerton College, Cambridge.

More than just a teacher

Nannie was more than just a teacher; she was a mentor, a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear. To her students, she showed complete commitment. Her standards were high, and in return, she expected complete commitment from them in their studies. Nannie helped these fledgling musicians, encouraging them to obtain wide experiences of teaching and attend courses both in Britain and abroad, often paying their fees out of her own pocket. Nannie didn’t just encourage violists, but all young musicians. When her close friend, Muriel Taylor passed away after a battle with leukaemia in 1971, Nannie founded a scholarship for cellists in her memory. This scholarship is still enabling gifted cellists to study almost fifty years later – www.murieltaylorscholarship.org

The birth of ESTA UK

In 1973, Max Rostal asked Nannie Jamieson to start a British Branch of ESTA, the European String Teachers Association, originally founded in Austria by Marianne Kroemer the year previous. Nannie, aged 69, put her formidable energies into setting up the branch as its first organising secretary. She knew personally the majority of the most influential string teachers in Britain and gathered these around her, along with likeminded friends with the purpose of forwarding the cause of string teaching in Britain. At the inception of the British Branch of the European String Teachers Association, those gathered included Yehudi Menuhin, Max Rostal, Yfrah Neaman, Martin Lovett, Robert Masters, Joan Dickson and Muriel Anthony.    This original group of highly enthusiastic and effective string players was soon augmented by Christopher Bunting, Louis Carus and Elspeth Iliff. There was input from abroad with frequent visits from Igor Ozim and Paul Rolland, who also brought across other fabulous teachers from the longer established American String Teachers Association (ASTA). Sheila Nelson also came on board, as did Britain’s first exponent of the Suzuki Method, Helen Brunner. With such firm founding parents, the British Branch of the European String Teachers Association was bound to be a success and the early membership recruited in the early 1970s was a strong one, including ESTA UK’s current Chair, John Shayler.

Always learning

Nannie always recognised the need as an individual to keep learning, setting about learning as much as she could from others with the same level of enthusiasm and determination that she showed in every other aspect of life. She never lost the sense of excitement in either her own teaching or her thirst for knowledge. Nannie’s niece Kate Beresford recounts ‘She never lost her excitement for teaching and recognised when she herself needed to learn from others. A case in point is when Helen Brunner first introduced the Suzuki method in the UK, Nannie was quick to want to understand the method and realised she had no experience whatsoever of teaching very little children who were taking their actual very first steps into music. So what did she do? She harnessed the energy of her three great-nephews who had never played a note on a stringed instrument, aged  3,5 & 7, set them up with instruments and attended several sessions with Helen Brunner and watched the results. Several years of happy music making followed where Nannie was able to ‘cherry pick’ from her amassed experience of techniques making for lessons that were never dull, and always with the emphasis on getting it ‘right’ through patience and fun. She did not accept second best with the children any more than she would with her more grown-up students.’  

Her legacy

Nannie passed away in 1990. In 1981, her outstanding work for services to music had been recognised through the award of an MBE and she was also a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (1956), but it seemed very fitting that a fund be set up in her memory for string players. The resulting ‘Nutshell Fund’ was named after her demonstration lectures covering much of the basic techniques needed for violin and viola playing and subsequent book, titled ‘Technique in a Nutshell’.

The fund  

Nannie truly believed that it was the greatest privilege to be a teacher and the fund set up as her legacy really holds true to her ideals and philosophies. The Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund awards bursaries enabling ESTA UK members to develop and broaden their teaching skills on all bowed orchestral string instruments. These bursaries are awarded to attend short courses on string teaching, including the ESTA Summer School, and to enable established teachers to take a limited number of one-to-one private lessons in ESTA’s Play Better, Teach Better programme. Nutshell bursaries have been provided since 1990 and currently (January 2019) a total of 200 bursaries amounting to over £60,000 have been awarded. These bursaries were funded from initial contributions of £30,000, collected shortly after Nannie’s death in 1990 and overseen in the early years by Robert Masters, Christopher Wellington and Sylvia Palmer. Since then, the assets of the Nutshell Fund have grown through specific fund raising activities and generous donations. Now the fund also receives corporate sponsorship, allowing many more bursaries to be awarded. ESTA UK graciously acknowledges the considerable assistance for these bursaries provided by Stentor, Pirastro, Thomastik-Infeld, Partplay, Barenreiter, Jargar and Universal Edition. The ESTA Bursary Committee, which administers the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund, is always delighted to receive further donations to help more and more ESTA members develop and broaden their teaching skills. In 2003, the committee of the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund published an appreciation of her life and work. The booklet, ‘The Red Hot Magnet’, was aptly named from a phrase borrowed from one of Nannie’s exercises for the left hand. Copies of the booklet may be obtained from bursary@estastrings.org.uk. The high respect which Nannie earned from everyone is clearly apparent in the articles from all of its contributors.

“I can still hear Nannie Jamieson’s voice as we discussed over decades so many subjects, musical, human and, of course, ESTA.” –  Yehudi Menuhin “I remember her in many ways: the oriflamme of her hair atop her twinkling eyes, her enthusiasm for music and people, and her outstanding dedication to her students.” –  Christopher Bunting “That the musical world should go on as before without Nannie Jamieson seems inconceivable. Her warm personality, her charm, her great humanity, her helpfulness to her students, to her colleagues, to her innumerable friends and particularly ESTA, as well as to myself, were certainly unique. Her wonderful and infectious sense of humour was always a delight to me.” –  Max Rostal “Who will not remember Nannie’s great sense of humour and her tremendous perseverance – it was virtually impossible to say ‘no’ to her.” – Igor Ozim

For more information about the Nutshell Fund, the ESTA Summer School and the many other opportunities that ESTA UK has to offer in terms of career development visit www.estastrings.org.uk or www.estaeducation.co.uk