Kato havas
Encyclopedia
Kató Havas is a violinist and violin
and viola
teacher who developed the "New Approach to violin playing" to help prevent and physical injuries and eliminate stage fright related to playing the violin or viola. Through the teaching of the New Approach, Kató Havas realized that the release of physical tensions eliminated also mental tension. In her book Stage Fright Kató Havas analyzes the physical, mental and social causes of it and gives practical answers and exercises.
, Romania
and became a child prodigy
of the violin
. Introduced to the instrument at the age of five, she gave her first professional recital at seven. Impressed by her playing, her compatriot Emil Telmányi
arranged for her to study at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest with Imre Waldbauer, the first violinist of the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quarte, where she received the traditional training.
Her musical education took place at a time when Waldbauer, Ernő Dohnányi
, Bartok and Kodaly were active in Hungary. Havas also claims Hungarian gypsy violin players
had a profound influence on her later development of the New Approach.
In the early sixties, a series of articles about her method by Noel Hale, F.R.A.M., appeared in The Strad. "I was privileged", wrote Hale, "to witness the teaching of a method of violin playing entirely new to me, which I believe is capable of revolutionizing the technique of playing… writing as a personal witness, I must say that I have been amazed at the results of this unusual approach." These articles started a heated debate.
In 1961, her first book, A New Approach to Violin Playing, was published, with a laudatory foreword
by violin virtuoso
Yehudi Menuhin
.
Havas has been invited to lecture at Oxford University, has given talks and demonstrations on television, as well as a series of lecture demonstrations in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many European countries. She has travelled extensively in the United States, giving workshops on the application of the new approach to violin and viola playing. She founded and directed the Purbeck Music Festival in Dorset, the Roehampton Music Festival in London and the International Festival in Oxford where she is now based and approached by players from all over the world.
In 1992 the American String Teachers Association
(ASTA) conferred upon her its prestigious Isaac Stern International Award in recognition of her "unparalleled achievements".
In 2002 Havas was appointed OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II, in the Queen's Birthday Honours, "for services to music".
Her books A New Approach, The Twelve Lesson Course and Stage Fright have been translated into Chinese, Czech, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish. Havas's method has also inspired publications such as The Cellist's Inner Voice, a book by cello player and teacher at the Royal Manchester College of Music (later becoming the Royal Northern College of Music) Ian Bewley, on the application of the New Approach principles to cello playing.
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
teacher who developed the "New Approach to violin playing" to help prevent and physical injuries and eliminate stage fright related to playing the violin or viola. Through the teaching of the New Approach, Kató Havas realized that the release of physical tensions eliminated also mental tension. In her book Stage Fright Kató Havas analyzes the physical, mental and social causes of it and gives practical answers and exercises.
Early life and education
Kató Havas was born in Târgu SecuiescTârgu Secuiesc
Târgu Secuiesc is a city in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Lunga .- History :The town was first mentioned in 1407 as Torjawasara, meaning in Hungarian “Torja Market”...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and became a child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
of the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. Introduced to the instrument at the age of five, she gave her first professional recital at seven. Impressed by her playing, her compatriot Emil Telmányi
Emil Telmányi
Emil Telmányi, b. 22 June 1892 in Arad, then in the Kingdom of Hungary, d. 13 June 1988 in Holte, Denmark was a Hungarian violinist who invented the Bach bow, designed to play and sustain three or four notes on a violin for Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin...
arranged for her to study at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest with Imre Waldbauer, the first violinist of the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quarte, where she received the traditional training.
Her musical education took place at a time when Waldbauer, Ernő Dohnányi
Erno Dohnányi
Ernő Dohnányi was a Hungarian conductor, composer, and pianist. He used the German form of his name Ernst von Dohnányi for most of his published compositions....
, Bartok and Kodaly were active in Hungary. Havas also claims Hungarian gypsy violin players
Gypsy style
The term gypsy style refers to the typical way East European music is played in coffeehouses and restaurants, at parties, and sometimes on-stage, in European cities. Music played in this style is known by the general public as "gypsy music"....
had a profound influence on her later development of the New Approach.
Career
At the age of eighteen she made her debut in America at Carnegie Hall and was acclaimed by the critics.In the early sixties, a series of articles about her method by Noel Hale, F.R.A.M., appeared in The Strad. "I was privileged", wrote Hale, "to witness the teaching of a method of violin playing entirely new to me, which I believe is capable of revolutionizing the technique of playing… writing as a personal witness, I must say that I have been amazed at the results of this unusual approach." These articles started a heated debate.
In 1961, her first book, A New Approach to Violin Playing, was published, with a laudatory foreword
Foreword
A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
by violin virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
.
Havas has been invited to lecture at Oxford University, has given talks and demonstrations on television, as well as a series of lecture demonstrations in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many European countries. She has travelled extensively in the United States, giving workshops on the application of the new approach to violin and viola playing. She founded and directed the Purbeck Music Festival in Dorset, the Roehampton Music Festival in London and the International Festival in Oxford where she is now based and approached by players from all over the world.
In 1992 the American String Teachers Association
American String Teachers Association
The American String Teacher's Association is a professional organization based in the United States for music teachers. It is the largest such national organization in the US for string teachers. It promotes learning to play string instruments in the next generation of American students, and...
(ASTA) conferred upon her its prestigious Isaac Stern International Award in recognition of her "unparalleled achievements".
In 2002 Havas was appointed OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II, in the Queen's Birthday Honours, "for services to music".
Publications
- A New Approach to Violin Playing – 1961
- The Twelve Lesson Course in a New Approach to Violin Playing – 1964
- The Violin and I – An Autobiographical Account with Seven Years of Controversial Correspondence over the New Approach – 1968
- Stage Fright – Its Causes and Cures with Special Reference to Violin Playing – 1973
- Freedom to Play, Alexander Broude, 1981
- A New Approach on the Causes and Cures of Physical Injuries in Violin and Viola Playing, teaching video, 1991
Her books A New Approach, The Twelve Lesson Course and Stage Fright have been translated into Chinese, Czech, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish. Havas's method has also inspired publications such as The Cellist's Inner Voice, a book by cello player and teacher at the Royal Manchester College of Music (later becoming the Royal Northern College of Music) Ian Bewley, on the application of the New Approach principles to cello playing.
External links
- Kató Havas Official website
- Kató Havas on the New Approach Videos of Kató Havas at ESTA Italy
- Videos of Kató Havas workshop