Accompanying at Voice Lessons with Aksel Schiøtz at Copenhagen's Lærerhøjskole

Tekst af: John Andrus 2006, Stony Brook University

The uniquely fascinating, deeply moving, and inspiring story represented by the life and career of Aksel Schiøtz - great singer, recording artist, teacher, morale-booster and symbol of resistance during the Occupation, and all- round brave soul - is well known to many Danes and hardly a secret to music lovers around the world. As a result of his professional activities in England and North America, his recordings and his story are perhaps best known, outside Denmark, in the English-speaking world. As an American who had the good fortune to have studied briefly with him, it is an honor for me to be given an opportunity to make a small contribution to the celebration of his memory during this centenary of his birth.

During what turned out to be one of his last years, (1972- 73), a grant from the Danish-American Foundation allowed me to come to Copenhagen and supplement the more purely musicological aspects of my research on Schubert Lieder (for my Ph.D. dissertation) with insights gained from this master of interpretation, whose 1945 recording of Die schöne Müllerin, remains to this day one of the most compelling of all recordings of the song cycle.

As a pianist rather than a singer, my activity involved accompanying at the voice lessons Aksel gave at the Lærerhøjskole. Both singers and accompanist benefited from the many interpretative insights and depth of knowledge about vocal production for which the singer with a "career in two acts" (and two voices) was noted. Not too surprisingly, he was especially concerned that the singers not strain for effect - not only to spare their vocal cords, but in the interest of beauty of sound in performance and a convincing interpretation of the work at hand. We also enjoyed his ironic wit and lack of pretension. At the same time, regrettably, one had to admit that his legendary strength was finally beginning to ebb, and in ways that affected his teaching. Nevertheless, it is the positive aspects of our brief association which color my memories - in particular, his kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity.

Aksel arranged piano lessons for me with a professor on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory at the professor's home. To provide me with practicing facilities, he and Gerd generously made their apartment on the Sølvgade available to me on a regular basis, at a time of day when they were out. One day I noticed a book on the bookshelf near the piano. It was a book of excellent black-and- white photographs published in what was then Yugoslavia. The photographs were of the ancient dwarf pines that grow in the highest elevations of the mountains there. These trees were storm-battered and twisted, but obviously real survivors and, without any doubt, objects of fascination, even veneration. The book had been inscribed by Gerd and the twin daughters to Aksel. It was hard to get back to my Chopin polonaise that day.

I remember several of his voice students, their voice lessons, and the hospitality shown me by them. One was Edith, wife of composer Bent Lorentzen. They very graciously treated me to a traditional Danish Christmas Eve celebration with their three children in their home - an experience I still remember with much pleasure. There was a Danish student whose name, if I remember correctly, was Bjørn Larsen. He and his wife also invited me to dinner in their home. A third student was Cheryl, an American, married to a Dane named Peterson.

At the end of the Spring Term, I still had a month remaining on the grant, and was able to finish work on the first draft of my dissertation (Schubert and His Public: the Songs from 1817 to 1828) for the Ph.D. in Music at the University of California, Santa Barbara (granted 1974).

In conclusion, I would like to say how much I appreciate having had the opportunity to expand my horizons in this very special way. I hope that the centenary celebration will help to keep alive the memory of one whose name, when I mentioned it to Danes I met during my year in Denmark, was always recognized, and always, it seemed to me, with pride.