"Grassroots interest and cooperation are crucial to success": interview with Brigitt Leibundgut
Brigitt Leibundgut has been involved with the SSPM for 36 years, first on the committee and as president of the Zurich section, then on the central committee - from 2004 as vice-president, and from 2013 to 2014 as president of the SSPM. She will step down at this year's Delegates' Meeting. Brigitt Leibundgut talks about her musical career, her time at the SSPM and the music school she founded.
Lucas Bennett: How did you get into music?
Brigitt Leibundgut: It was simply in me, it came from within. I grew up in a culturally aware environment and took piano lessons from an early age. I enjoyed doing my exercises, and I loved my piano teacher, which is naturally just as important.
LB: Did you also learn any other instruments?
BL: No, unfortunately. It's something I'd certainly do if I had the chance to start all over again. I do feel a lack of it; I even had to learn to play the flute for my early music training, which is something I didn't know either (laughs).
LB: Which instrument would you choose?
BL: The cello ...
LB: You went on to study piano at the professional section of the Bern Conservatory. Your teachers included some very well-known personalities, including theory lessons with Sandor Veress. What was that like?
BL: It was very impressive. Veress was an independent personality who you had to get to know first. He used to correct written work during lessons, and in doing so would think long and hard about how to proceed with the assessment... sometimes half an hour passed in this way (laughs).
LB: Who was your main piano teacher?
BL: Rosmarie Stucki. She was married to a violinist with a brilliant career ahead of him, Jürg Stucki, who died prematurely of pneumonia (penicillin did not yet exist in those days). She was a demanding teacher, who could react with irritation when people didn't progress at the pace she wanted.
LB: Later, you deepened your training with Hubert Harry...
BL: Yes, it was very stimulating. He taught me a different technique, and I learned a lot from him. The pianist John Buttrick, with whom I'm currently taking lessons which have benefited me enormously, also teaches me a very different technique and approach, which I appreciate very much.
LB: Do you still give concerts?
BL: I haven't been giving any lately. In the past, I mainly played accompaniment and chamber music, for example in a duo with violinist Brigitte Barandun.
LB: What is "your" music?
BL: It's clearly the classical period and the beginning of Romanticism; Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven... As for contemporary music, I was certainly very curious to discover it, but no opportunity arose for me to devote myself to it in greater depth.
LB: In 1973, you founded a private music school in Küsnacht. How did that work out?
BL: I started the project, we had to fight for every penny, it was pretty crazy. Naturally, various people were involved in founding and developing the school. We really had to build everything from scratch. As a private institution, the school initially received nothing, and later only modest subsidies. In the meantime, its financial situation has improved considerably.
LB: How did you get in touch with the SSPM?
BL: I joined in the spring of 1960, immediately after graduating in piano. We received a registration form with the diary, I signed up, and that's how I became a member.
LB: Did you give private lessons back then?
BL: I started out as a private teacher. Later, of course, I also taught at the music school in Küsnacht. For a time, I also gave piano lessons at the Zurich cantonal school. I also taught music initiation and basic training in Küsnacht and Zollikon.
LB: What led you to become involved in the committee of the Zurich section of the SSPM, as a member since 1978, and president from 1990 to 1999?
BL: At the time, I'd moved from Geneva to Zurich and already had contacts with the section, because I regularly organized student concerts. Bernhard Biletter asked me if I'd like to join the committee. It was a pleasant and productive time, and I remember with pleasure the collaboration with my colleagues.
LB: How did your involvement with the Central Committee begin?
BL: One day, I bumped into Roland Vuataz at Zurich station, and he asked me if I'd be interested in working on the central committee. I asked him if I wasn't too old for that - and he just burst out laughing (laughs).
LB: What were the main topics at the time?
BL: Even then, we were often preoccupied with money and finding members (laughs). Later, another important topic was the transfer of the SSPM's professional training to the Bologna system.
LB: Did you think this project would succeed?
BL: I've always hoped so. Many people, especially those in the higher education sector, were skeptical about the possibility of achieving university status. And I don't know if we could have achieved our goal without our partnership with Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences.
LB: You've been part of the SSPM's history for 36 years, first on the committee of the Zurich section, then on the central committee as vice-president and finally as central president of the SSPM. What potential developments do you see for the SSPM in the future?
BL: I see potential for moderate reforms of the SSPM's structure. The central association will continue to play an important role, but the sections could be more closely involved in its management. However, this will largely depend on people's willingness to get involved and collaborate actively.
LB: What do you think the association will be able to offer in the future in the field of music pedagogy, now that professional training has been outsourced?
BL: I think that the SSPM, in collaboration with the ASMP (Swiss Academy of Music and Music Pedagogy, ed. note), can make a valuable contribution in the field of continuing education and course offerings. I see a lot of potential for the future here. But here too, the interest and cooperation of the grassroots and the public are crucial to success.
LB: Brigitt, thank you very much for this interview.
Brigitt Leibundgut has been involved with the SSPM for 36 years, first on the committee and as president of the Zurich section, then on the central committee - from 2004 as vice-president, and from 2013 to 2014 as president of the SSPM. She will step down at this year's Delegates' Meeting. Brigitt Leibundgut talks about her musical career, her time at the SSPM and the music school she founded.
Lucas Bennett: How did you get into music?
Brigitt Leibundgut: It was simply in me, it came from within. I grew up in a culturally aware environment and took piano lessons from an early age. I enjoyed doing my exercises, and I loved my piano teacher, which is naturally just as important.
LB: Did you also learn any other instruments?
BL: No, unfortunately. It's something I'd certainly do if I had the chance to start all over again. I do feel a lack of it; I even had to learn to play the flute for my early music training, which is something I didn't know either (laughs).
LB: Which instrument would you choose?
BL: The cello ...
LB: You went on to study piano at the professional section of the Bern Conservatory. Your teachers included some very well-known personalities, including theory lessons with Sandor Veress. What was that like?
BL: It was very impressive. Veress was an independent personality who you had to get to know first. He used to correct written work during lessons, and in doing so would think long and hard about how to proceed with the assessment... sometimes half an hour passed in this way (laughs).
LB: Who was your main piano teacher?
BL: Rosmarie Stucki. She was married to a violinist with a brilliant career ahead of him, Jürg Stucki, who died prematurely of pneumonia (penicillin did not yet exist in those days). She was a demanding teacher, who could react with irritation when people didn't progress at the pace she wanted.
LB: Later, you deepened your training with Hubert Harry...
BL: Yes, it was very stimulating. He taught me a different technique, and I learned a lot from him. The pianist John Buttrick, with whom I'm currently taking lessons which have benefited me enormously, also teaches me a very different technique and approach, which I appreciate very much.
LB: Do you still give concerts?
BL: I haven't been giving any lately. In the past, I mainly played accompaniment and chamber music, for example in a duo with violinist Brigitte Barandun.
LB: What is "your" music?
BL: It's clearly the classical period and the beginning of Romanticism; Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven... As for contemporary music, I was certainly very curious to discover it, but no opportunity arose for me to devote myself to it in greater depth.
LB: In 1973, you founded a private music school in Küsnacht. How did that work out?
BL: I started the project, we had to fight for every penny, it was pretty crazy. Naturally, various people were involved in founding and developing the school. We really had to build everything from scratch. As a private institution, the school initially received nothing, and later only modest subsidies. In the meantime, its financial situation has improved considerably.
LB: How did you get in touch with the SSPM?
BL: I joined in the spring of 1960, immediately after graduating in piano. We received a registration form with the diary, I signed up, and that's how I became a member.
LB: Did you give private lessons back then?
BL: I started out as a private teacher. Later, of course, I also taught at the music school in Küsnacht. For a time, I also gave piano lessons at the Zurich cantonal school. I also taught music initiation and basic training in Küsnacht and Zollikon.
LB: What led you to become involved in the committee of the Zurich section of the SSPM, as a member since 1978, and president from 1990 to 1999?
BL: At the time, I'd moved from Geneva to Zurich and already had contacts with the section, because I regularly organized student concerts. Bernhard Biletter asked me if I'd like to join the committee. It was a pleasant and productive time, and I remember with pleasure the collaboration with my colleagues.
LB: How did your involvement with the Central Committee begin?
BL: One day, I bumped into Roland Vuataz at Zurich station, and he asked me if I'd be interested in working on the central committee. I asked him if I wasn't too old for that - and he just burst out laughing (laughs).
LB: What were the main topics at the time?
BL: Even then, we were often preoccupied with money and finding members (laughs). Later, another important topic was the transfer of the SSPM's professional training to the Bologna system.
LB: Did you think this project would succeed?
BL: I've always hoped so. Many people, especially those in the higher education sector, were skeptical about the possibility of achieving university status. And I don't know if we could have achieved our goal without our partnership with Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences.
LB: You've been part of the SSPM's history for 36 years, first on the committee of the Zurich section, then on the central committee as vice-president and finally as central president of the SSPM. What potential developments do you see for the SSPM in the future?
BL: I see potential for moderate reforms of the SSPM's structure. The central association will continue to play an important role, but the sections could be more closely involved in its management. However, this will largely depend on people's willingness to get involved and collaborate actively.
LB: What do you think the association will be able to offer in the future in the field of music pedagogy, now that professional training has been outsourced?
BL: I think that the SSPM, in collaboration with the ASMP (Swiss Academy of Music and Music Pedagogy, ed. note), can make a valuable contribution in the field of continuing education and course offerings. I see a lot of potential for the future here. But here too, the interest and cooperation of the grassroots and the public are crucial to success.
LB: Brigitt, thank you very much for this interview.
