‘Make mistakes to find your own musical path’ - Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt’s life lessons

My ‘cello father’ is most definitely David Geringas. I first met him when I was 15 years old during a masterclass. I remember playing the slow movement of Haydn’s D major Concerto, after which he said, ‘It’s very nice, but now play a C major scale.’ And I didn’t know how to do it! My previous teacher had taught technique only through repertoire. And so, when I became a student of Geringas a few years later, he gave me all the technical equipment I needed…