Abba Bogin (1925–2011) was a piano student of Isabelle Vengerova at the Curtis Institute of Music in the latter 1940s. An admirer of Tabuteau, he attended many of his classes becoming his unofficial ‘assistant.’ Among other pianists enlisted, he played for Tabuteau’s ensemble classes, filling in missing parts of the works being studied. He went on to have a successful career both as a pianist and conductor.
As stated to Melissa Stevens in a 1998 interview: “There were some wonderful teachers at the school, but…I would say my primary influence in how I make and play music probably comes more from Tabuteau than from any other instructor at the school [Curtis].”
Below is an extract from Melissa A. Stevens’ 1999 dissertation Marcel Tabuteau: Pedagogical Concepts and Practices for Teaching Musical Expressiveness: An Oral History.
