Suzuki, Shinichi

▪ 1999

      Japanese violinist and teacher (b. Oct. 17/18, 1898, Nagoya, Japan—d. Jan. 26, 1998, Matsumoto, Japan), devised a method by which millions of young children worldwide learned to play the violin. Instead of trying to teach them to read music, he emphasized listening, imitation, and repetition, theorizing that children could learn to play music the same way they learn language. Suzuki, the son of a violin maker, taught himself to play that instrument after hearing a recording by Mischa Elman. He studied commerce in a vocational school and after graduation went (1921) to Germany to further his musical studies. During much of his time there, Albert Einstein was one of his guardians. When he returned (1928) to Japan, Suzuki, with his three younger brothers, formed the Suzuki Quartet. Shortly thereafter, he became president of the Teikoku Music School, founded the Tokyo String Orchestra, and joined the faculty of the Imperial Music School. After World War II ended, Suzuki was invited to assist in the founding of a school in Matsumoto. He spent the remainder of his career there and more fully developed his theories regarding music education. By the 1950s his students were giving annual concerts, at which some 3,000 young students would perform together as a group. The Suzuki method gained attention in the U.S. when a group of 10 Japanese youngsters played their violins at music teachers' conferences in 1964, and teachers in Great Britain were adopting the method by the 1970s. To aid in the training of teachers in Europe, the European Suzuki Association was organized in the late '70s, and in 1983 the International Suzuki Association was created so that Suzuki could maintain contact with his method's teachers. By the late 1990s the number of those teachers had grown to over 8,000, and some 400,000 students in 34 countries were receiving instruction. Among Suzuki's numerous honours was his appointment to the Order of the National Treasure by the emperor of Japan.

* * *