Wishing you a very peaceful and restful Easter break. Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re able to share it with your friends and family, despite the continuing pandemic restrictions.

I’d like to celebrate with this master class which was filmed in 1973. Taken from the Jerusalem Music Centre’s archives, this historic class features legendary pianist Gina Bachauer at the Jerusalem Music Centre. Bachauer works on Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 with JMC graduate Yefim Bronfman.

Gina Bachauer (1913 – 1976) was born in Athens, Greece, and gave her first recital aged just eight. After studying with Woldemar Freeman at the Athens Conservatory, graduating in 1929, she went to the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris,  where she worked with Alfred Cortot.

Bachauer toured extensively, performing with many of the world’s greatest orchestras, and she gave over 630 concerts for the Allied troops in the Middle East during World War II. She recorded for HMV, RCA Victor and Mercury labels. The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition was established in 1976 in her honour, and it attracts pianists from all over the world to Salt Lake City, USA.

Publications

Melanie Spanswick has written and published a wide range of courses, anthologies, examination syllabuses, and text books, including Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). This best-selling graded, progressive piano course contains a large selection of repertoire featuring a huge array of styles and genres, with copious practice tips and suggestions for every piece.

For more information, please visit the publications page, here.