M USICAL I NSPIRATION The inspiration which each of her tutors has given her is cherished by June as an invaluable legacy. Her hope is to share this with

MUSICAL INSPIRATION

The inspiration which each of her tutors has given her is cherished by June as an invaluable legacy. Her hope is to share this with everyone, through her performance, teaching and story-telling.

Copyright © 2007 June Grandwells. All rights reserved.

Mr Tsutsumi was June's first cello tutor. Although known for his strictness, to her he was like a grandfather. At every lesson, he would express his delight at her having done her homework so well, and would indicate how difficult the next would be.

THE LATE MR KIYOSHI TSUTSUMI

June greatly admires Mr Tsutsumi for his very original method of teaching children. He would give his pupils a copy of a well‑known tune that he himself arranged to suit each pupil's ability and progress. Looking at her collection of his hand‑written music sheets, June still feels his warmth very close to her.

Father of Professor Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (Indiana University)

Copyright © 2007 June Grandwells. All rights reserved. NextPrevious

The late Professor Reine Flachot (École Normale de Musique de Paris, France) recognised June's gift and invited her to the Masterclasses for conservatoire music students in France when she was still only eleven. Professor Flachot's performance of Kodály’s Solo Sonata impressed June deeply, and the course itself was very exciting. June is especially grateful to Professor Flachot for this unforgettable experience.

INCENTIVES

When June had just turned fourteen, she won the Gold Medal at a Competition, outperforming many older and more highly trained students. Receiving the Special Prize from the President of her local City Assembly on that occasion was her first official acknowledgement, and led to June's admission into the Toho Gakuen College of Music, which has produced many of world-renowned performers.


PROFESSOR KENICHIRO YASUDA

On another occasion, the subject was the perceived differences in the colours of sounds, and Professor Yasuda suggested that June associate each chord or key with a particular colour. She very much appreciates this stimulation of her synaesthetic sense at an early age.

Toho Gakuen Public School Toho Gakuen College of Music

Pupil of both Pierre Fournier and Gaspar CassadóThird Prize Winner at the Tchaikovsky International Competition

1966June recalls a discussion about tempo with Professor Yasuda that illustrated his droll sense of humour. Portraits of Brahms in later life depict his stout physique, so they came to the conclusion that he could not possibly have walked or danced with the same agility as a skinny child like June. Therefore, when Brahms suggested certain tempi ‘like a march’ or ‘like a minuet,’ they would have to moderate their thinking accordingly.


Since then, June has become aware of two major influences on her musical application stemming from this early period of her study. She was introduced to the efficient and methodical approach of the Germans by the followers of Hideo Saito, a pupil of Feuermann and founder of the Toho Gakuen College of Music. At the same time, the French schools' influence on her musical interpretation was instigated by Professor Yasuda and the other cellists (pupils of French legends such as Tortelier and Navarra) with whom she was studying chamber music at the time.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

VIA GERMANY


THE LATE EMERITUS PROFESSOR YORITOYO INOUE

Toho Gakuen Public SchoolToho Gakuen College of Music

Expert in playing and teaching Russian music in JapanSeveral times Judge at the Tchaikovsky International Competition

The Professor's beloved wife reported to June's mother that, unlike any of his other pupils, June tended to chat away in the course of her lessons. Their philosophical discussions were often about music, but June treasures most the account of Professor Inoue's survival technique as a prisoner of war during a Siberian winter, when he learnt Russian.

June remembers her last meeting with Professor Inoue. “Although his health had already deteriorated, he promised me, when I was leaving Japan, that he would be waiting for me to play for him again. This was probably the first and last falsehood he ever told.”


When June apologised for her absence from Professor Inoue's funeral, his widow reassured her, “He would not have been pleased if you had wasted time when you should have been studying attending the funeral. He will always be with you.” June took comfort from this shared belief that constant self‑improvement was the only way to repay the support she had received.

One day, whilst playing a Bach piece for him, June suddenly became confused about the intonation and felt somehow trapped and muddled. She could not forgive herself for being unable to play her best for him. “When you feel as if you are regressing, it means your sense has become sharper - proof that you are actually making progress,” Professor Inoue told her. June was encouraged by this consolation, especially when she found herself in what she calls a quagmire of despair.


Soon after graduating as a Bachelor of Arts, June won a prize in the 60th Japan Music Competition. In the same year, she was awarded the Japan Federation of Musicians’ Prize for her Schumann Concerto, and her achievement was marked with membership of the Federation.

REWARDS


In the same year that June became a member of the Japan Cello Society, her lifelong dream of studying the Russian method was finally fulfilled when she met Professor Alexander Boyarsky and Professor Karine Georgian, to both of whom she feels immense gratitude.

THE RUSSIAN CONNECTION

VIA GREAT BRITAINJune wishes to express her thanks to Professor Ralph Kirshbaum and Professor Emma Ferrand, her tutors at the Royal Northern College of Music. June received a scholarship from the RNCM, and was subsequently awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Studies in Musical Performance. She also has dear memories of her Masterclass lessons with Professor Steven Doane (University of Rochester, Royal Academy of Music) at the International Music Seminar in Cornwall, where she was enthused by Professor Doane's unique perspective on the topic.


June studied with Professor Boyarsky privately between 1997 and 2000. She must have looked somewhat fragile to him and he would start with, “Are you all right? You still look like a doll. What (piece) did you bring today?”

PROFESSOR ALEXANDER BOYARSKY

Attending a recital given by Professor Boyarsky’s son, Konstantin, Principal Viola in the Royal Opera House Orchestra, June reflected that the son, taking after his father, must have been very popular. Indeed, both are handsome and tall, brilliant musicians, with a good sense of humour. And Professor Boyarsky’s wife, who teaches violin at the Yehudi Menuhin School, always looks elegant and graceful ... June is very fond of this ideal family.

Royal College of Music

Professor Boyarsky allayed, with great immediacy, many musical concerns June had endured for years. No-one but he, June professes, can spot the cause of uncertainty so quickly. His priceless advice helped her to regain her confidence.


Professor Georgian's instantaneous response to June's performance during her first lesson at the Dartington International Summer School, which twice awarded June a scholarship, was to empathise with her deep contemplation of music. June can never thank the Professor enough for her generous and never-failing mental support, and explains why she regards Professor Georgian as her mentor.

When June first ‘saw’ Professor Georgian play, the angle of her left hand on the fingerboard seemed interestingly distinctive. June wondered whether this might be only a trick of her own sightline. But this observation eventually led June to establish the method that translates her exuberant imagination into rich sound.

PROFESSOR KARINE GEORGIAN Musikhochschule in Detmold (Germany)

Royal Northern College of MusicFirst Prize and Gold Medal Winner at the 1966 Tchaikovsky International

CompetitionDedicatee and Associate of leading contemporary composers


“Whatever she does, her very presence is awe‑inspiring. One episode illustrates her complete integrity: despite her secure status as one of the most respected of cellists, due to her passion for music and her uncompromising commitment to her pupils, she did not mind humbling herself by asking all her pupils their opinion of her performance at a stage rehearsal, just before an important concert in which she was to give the world première performance of a piece.”Another time, she casually took her student's

cello and played a phrase as a demonstration. Everyone shed tears of pleasure at this inexpressibly spiritual moment. “I am most privileged to have witnessed it.”


REFERENCES:

ANNABEL MARTIN-BAH

(2003)

“Interview with June Grandwells”

MisterPinEd Ltd

KUMIKO ANDO

(1998) 15 October 1998 Edition

“Interview with June Grandwells

Her Search for the Way to Convey the Beauty of the Suppression of Emotions in the East”

Nichi‑Ei Times (1991 to 2002)

MICHIKO OI

(1976 to 1982)

“June’s Lesson Diaries”

Private Collection

EDITED BY:

EUGENE RYAN

VAL SOUTHON

IMAGES:

Antique Frames

www.antiqueframes.eu

Wallpaper

www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk

Professor Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi

http://www.music.indiana.edu/som/ejmccf/cellodept/cellofac/tsutsumi.html

http://www.kajimotomusic.com/html_e/artist_jap/tsuyoshi_tsutsumi.html

Professor Kenichiro Yasuda

http://www.kajimotomusic.com/html_e/artist_jap/kenichiro_yasuda.html

Brahms

http://www.classicalarchives.com/brahms.html

Hideo Saito

http://www.saito-kinen.com/e/about_skf/saito.shtml

http://www.cello.org/heaven/bios/saito.htm

Feuermann

http://www.cellist.nl/

http://www.cello.org/theses/smith/thesis.htm

Fournier

http://www.cello.org/cnc/fournier.htm

http://www.cello.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=cellistDetailPage&cellistID=14429

Tortelier


http://www.cello.org/cnc/tortel.htm

Navarra


Professor Yoritoyo Inoue

http://www.classicus.jp/shafran/pictures/tchaikovsky.html

Professor Ralph Kirshbaum


http://www.kirshdem.com/artist.php?id=ralphkirshbaum

Professor Emma Ferrand

http://www.rncm.ac.uk/?_id=386

Professor Steven Doane

http://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/SDoane.html

http://www.esm.rochester.edu/faculty/?id=60

Professor Alexander Boyarsky

http://www.rcm.ac.uk/prof.asp?display=professors&link=196

Konstantin Boyarsky

http://www.zavarteclassic.com/konstantin-boyarsky

Professor Natalie Boyarsky

http://www.yehudimenuhinschool.co.uk/1g.asp

Professor Karine Georgian

http://www.karinegeorgian.com/

Red Rose “Taboo”

http://www.justourpictures.com/

Copyright © 2007 June Grandwells. All rights reserved.

Documents

M USICAL I NSPIRATION The inspiration which each of her tutors has given her is cherished by June as an invaluable legacy. Her hope is to share this with