GURUGRAM: On
Gandhi Jayanti, Delhi’s
Lotus Temple came to life as it hosted an
opera based on the poignant tale of Shakuntala. This production, closing the circle of Franz Schubert’s unfinished creation of the early 19th century, is a labour of love of Grammy-winning composer Gerald
Wirth, and features Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan and an Indian choir rendering Gregorian chants.
On Monday, at a workshop in the city’s Rabindranath World School, Wirth — artistic director of the Vienna Boys Choir — introduced a method that carries his name, a fresh and integrative approach to learning music. According to this Austrian’s philosophy, every child can sing, and every person in the world is a musical person!
With many youngsters embracing new genres, how does the ‘Wirth Method’ keep interest alive in
classical music? Wirth explains that his technique of teaching allows children to learn the fundamentals of music in a way that is fun and engaging, while helping them realise their potential. The process of creating music, he describes, involves the entire body beyond the mechanisms of breathing and generating notes, for it encompasses the fingertips and challenges the brain. “Children who learn music become self-disciplined, gain confidence in their social and communication skills. (This is) what we — everybody who is involved in music, especially music education — know from experience,” Wirth told TOI. “Research on brain development has shown that music has no one point or centre in the brain. For music, all parts of the brain have to be active.”
Of the time he spent with late great Pandit Ravi Shankar, Wirth has only warm memories. “To me, he is a godfather of Indian classical music. We discussed about combining the state-of-the-art training of Western classical music with practices of Indian classical music, and introduce it to the Indian audience — this was how the Mozart Choir of India was born.
“I learnt many things from him, and also from other Indian artistes like Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and his son.” Western classical musicians, believes Wirth, can learn much from the traditions of Hindustani classical music, among them the emphasis put on every single note (especially when the whole scale is played).
“In my own training, I teach students that we have to see the big line and the harmony structure, but also work on every intricate note — how it starts, how it ends, and how it blossoms,” he says.
Wirth is currently collaborating with Indian artistes on musical projects, which is good news for aficionados of Hindustani Classical. And what does the professor listen to when he’s relaxing?
“I would rather have some quiet time when I am not working,” he chuckles.” When I listen to music, I listen to it from a musician’s point of view – how the phrasing is, its enjoyable parts, etc.
“I won’t distinguish between work and fun because it is the same thing, and I have the luxury of doing it.”