I taught him technique, speedy fingers, because that's what you need in modern jazz. I gave Oscar Chopin studies. And then mostly, as I found that he was so good at melodic ballad style, I gave him the idea of big chords, like Debussy has them. Big rich soft chords. And his ballad playing is remarkable... when he plays those old-timers like Laura and  Tenderly. If you have a natural talent for your fingers and harmony, they can't go wrong if they wanted to.

- Paul de Marky on Oscar Peterson 1


Paul de Marky was born in Gyula, Hungary on May 25, 1897. A student of Stephen Thoman, who had studied with Franz Liszt, he made his debut in Budapest in 1921. He immigrated to Canada in 1924 and eventually became a Canadian citizen in 1931. His first performance in Canada was at the Toronto Conservatory of Music on October 9, 1926.

From 1929 to 1937, he taught at the McGill Conservatory in Montreal and, until 1948, was often heard on the CBC. He retired from active performing at 53, and thereafter taught piano privately in Montreal to such pupils as Oscar Peterson and Samuel Levitan, and, later, Doug Riley and Robert Cram.

Though Paul de Marky was primarily a performer and teacher, he also composed several works. One such piece was his Ballad for piano and orchestra, which premiered on a CBC broadcast in August 1944. De Marky died in Montreal on May 16, 1982. 2


Footnotes

1 Lees, Gene.   Oscar Peterson: The Will to Swing.   Rocklin, California: Prima Publishing & Communications, 1990. (p. 58)

2 Kallman, Helmut and Potvin, Gilles.   Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.   Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992.

O.P. & Friends