JAVS Fall 2000

57

AllOlJT YIOUSTS

ing a phrase rhrough variation of tonal colors; to see his manipulation of bow speed, conract poinr and vibrato variation while hearing rhe glorious results gave us but a glimpse of what was possible. It is regrettable rhar he was not inclined to promote himself as a recording artist; while he recorded wirh rhe Eastman Quartet, his solo performances exist in treas ured Live concert rapes of rhe Piston Concerto, Arrhur Benjamin Romantic Fantasy wirh vio Linist Angel Reyes, and Brahms Sonata No. 1. Mr. Bundra was conscious of his role in rrainjng musicians as well as viola players. He insisted rhar before tackling rhe Bartok, Hindemirh and Walton concern, a student should develop borh technical and musical expertise in rhe David, Piston, Porter and Serly concerti, and in sonatas of de Menasce, George Wilson and Hindemirh (1939), pieces which his students came to regard as standard repertoire. Bach gamba sonatas and works by Eccles, Locatelli, and WF. Bach were prereq uisites ro Bach cello suites. The liturgy of etudes was outlined borh in order ofcomposer and in prescribed sequence wirhin each book, to ensure rhar a studenr gradually built a solid foundation for future successful performance of more difficult works. His primary goal, we eventually realized, was to reach us to become our own future teachers, to convey rhe techni cal and analytical skills, as well as musician ship, needed to continue rhe learning process throughout our lives, and to pass it along to our students as well. Mr. Bundra's former viola and chamber music students hold positions in major orchestras, in chamber music ensembles, and on university and public school faculties throughour rhe Uni ted Stares, Canada and Europe. He was delighted at rhe diversity of career paths chosen. He might never have imagined rhar, in rhe process of passing our art along to orhers, his former students would transcribe "La Vida Loca'' for public school strings, invenr the Poly-Pad shoulder rest, per form in rhe Kronos Quartet, create and suc cessfully market a string school in a commu nity which never had one, discover and champion ergonomically designed violas for professional use, pursue Baroque performance practice, become a renowned Scortish fiddler, record tracks on Motown and orher pop

lem bow hand, for example, he would give a daily lesson of five or ten minures until rhe problem was solved, wirh rhe added bonus of reaching rhe studenr as much about rhe teach ing and learning process as about rhe bow. Refusing to accept any protest abour possible lack of aptitude as an excuse, he brought to his teaching, on a daily basis, rhe absolure convic tion rhat, wirh informed, consisrenr and extreme hard work, all studenrs could expect improvemenr in borh technique and music making. To help us appreciate rhe history of rhe art he was passing down to us, he said rhar we were rhe musical "great-grandchildren" of Leopold Auer. He would regale us wirh stories of his childhood violin reacher in Philadel phia, an Auer student, who repuredly poked his students in rhe head wirh his bow if rhey did not practice. Never completely sure about rhe exrenr of this corporal punishmenr, we were nonerheless grateful to be beneficiaries of his rigorous training. This evolved inro a reaching style capable of guiding and criticiz ing with both persistence and good humor, rhe only painful prospect rhar of nor meeting rhe standards he believed we should demand of ourselves.

Frank kcrum Robura Zalkind on th~ virnw ofmukprac tict. Octob~r 1980, Ann Arbor, MI.

His good-natured mimicry of a problem passage just played-as we really played it followed by his own gorgeous performance of rhe same, spoke volumes more rhan a verbal analysis would have done, and served to simultaneously sharpen a studenr's powers of observation, listening and problem solving. Verbal description is inadequate to describe Francis Bundra's gift for sound and for shap