The Geography of the Cello: Janos Starker Gives Masterclasses in Oberlin by Jacob Bacharach, '03
			“The most important aspect of learning this instrument,” said cellist Janos Starker, “is to learn the geography of this instrument. And what is geography?” He paused. “Position.” The renowned cellist and teacher gave that advice during the two masterclasses he gave at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music on Monday, February 11, 2002. Starker opened each session by asking audience members to move toward the front of the auditorium so they could better hear him. But even for those who remained in the back, his voice was perfectly clear. Clear also describes Starker’s teaching. He sat quietly to the side as the students performed their pieces. After each performance he allowed himself, the student, and the audience a moment to consider the performance. Then he would come alive. He would cross the stage to demonstrate a bowing technique on a student’s arm, then go back to demonstrate on his own instrument. He would walk around students as they repeated passages from their pieces. Sometimes he would interrupt their playing, interjecting what seemed to be his favorite refrain: “Don’t cramp the thumb!” But, somehow, Starker was never intrusive. And although some students seemed nervous at the beginning of their sessions, they all eventually relaxed. Starker's advice was concise: "God gave us five fingers, so any fingering is possible”; “Everyone plays better the second time. You have to learn to play the first time like the second”; “Your problem is, you’ve already learned how to jump, but not how to walk. You have to walk first; then you can jump.” In the end, Janos Starker’s best advice may be his simplest: “Sometimes the best answers are the stupid answers.”
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