Gould

Ashley Johnson: “Amelia often told about how, early on, she heard a recording of the Torontonian concert pianist Glenn Gould and became totally excited, because to her mind, someone playing in such a way must be intuitively employing the Mitzvah principle with his body.

She found a film of Gould playing and was appalled to find that his head/neck/spine connection was horrendous.

She showed Nehemia. Yes, Gould had terrible posture. But Nehemia drew her attention to a circular movement of his pelvis, a gentle rocking as he played - it was this which made it all happen. It was a key learning moment for her.

Years later, when I was struggling to decide whether to stay in Davidson and complete my training or pursue other things, a young and very gifted violinist came to the church in Davidson for a session with Amelia.  Amelia couldn't do table work on this occasion because she'd injured herself gardening.  

She put her on the chair, and asked her to play. The music was entirely bland. Amelia began working on her on the chair very gradually, working ultimately with the pelvis, and asked her to play again.  

There was a sudden explosion of the most utterly stunning, dynamic music. Amelia looked at me and muttered: “did you see that?” We were both stunned. It was incredible. There and then I decided to stay in Davidson.”