Explaining how to play classical sonatas

[sybre]

Hi,
I'm a relatively new piano teacher and I'm currently teaching in a music school.

I'm teaching one of my relatively  more advanced teenage students how to play a Mozart sonata for her exam, but all she seems to know how to play are the notes! I keep telling her that Mozart is all about grace and elegance and the sound that is produced is still too harsh no matter how much i try to verbally explain or demonstrate for her. She's not the only one, I've got quite a few students who seem to just know the notes but can't seem to get the right 'feeling', which i have difficulty explaining as if comes to me naturallywhen i play. Does anyone have any good analogies or explanations on how to play classical sonatas well with poise and (some!)sensitivity?

Thank you, any comments would help.

[pskim]

Well, I tell my piano students when they play a classical sonata that try and imagine a dialog between two people.  And with the two note slurs, a delicate sigh.

It helps my students to play much better phrases when I tell them about this dialog between two (brothers, sisters, lovers, etc..) people and I make up a funny or romantic dialog as they are playing the piece.  They seem to get the idea on how to play these classical sonatas more delicately and not too technically.

I hope this somewhat helps you out with your student.  Good luck.

[Hmoll]

I agree with what pskim said about imagining/creating a dialogue.
Also, make sure their knowledge of sonata allegro form is more than just academic. The formal design is there to make the music come alive. For example, there are two different themes in the exposition, and they almost always have a different character. You have to show them how to change the character, mood, tone color, etc. of the different themes.
That extends to the development section too, which uses thematic material from before. and "develops" it through modulations, changes of texture, etc.

You may want to take one section at a time, and work on obtaining the sensitivity and sound you want from your student, then move on to the next section, and finally combine the two and try to retain the contrast between the two sections.