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In defense of Vieuxtemps5's plan, it is sometimes necessary to work around rather than with a powerful and egocentric person, and IF the person has a reputation for being such, it will not hurt his/her reputation if it becomes known that he/she did so.
I briefly studied with a major soloist in the UK. Very quickly I realized that a) the person was entirely incompetent as a teacher and not at all interested in teaching, b) my lessons would be few and far between, and c), this person had NO other students at that time, and for good reason.
I went to the head of the department with a more diplomatic version of my concerns. He worked hard to find me another (much better, if much less famous) teacher at the same institution, but advised me NOT to discuss the change with the first teacher until the new assignment was official.
While of course the first teacher was irritated that I had not consulted with him/her along the way, I was able to pass the blame along to the head of the department (with his permission) and will probably not be subject to much political harm from the teacher I left.
This situation is far preferable to the nightmare alternative: consulting with your teacher along the way, as you try to leave them, but the transfer falling through, and you being stuck with a giant black storm-cloud over your head in the same old studio. Depending on the size and fragility of the teacher's ego, that may be the worst outcome of all.
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