PIANO & MUSIC EDUCATION
Devoted to all aspects of music education, this page features music festivals, events, and venues, as well as piano master classes, exam preparation, and competitions.
The 2.5 Million Pound Piano
Eton College students give a concert every year at Steinway Hall in London for their friends, families, and teachers. It’s always an interesting occasion which includes a master class, for students who have won a school piano prize, as well as a tour of the premises and – the highlight for many – a visit…
Master Classes with Dame Imogen Cooper
It’s the start of a new academic year and as it’s been a while since I posted a master class, I thought the following might be just the ticket to inspire a fruitful term’s work. Filmed in the Performance Hall at the Royal College of Music in London on January 30th 2024, this class was…
New Online Courses at Guildhall Young Artists: Pathways To Conservatoire Programme
Guildhall Young Artists Online – Pathways To Conservatoire Programme – BMus 2 Since September 2023, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London has offered an innovative new course for students. This advanced two-year online course is aimed at international musicians who are interested in studying for a degree at the Guildhall School. This course has proved popular and Guildhall are…
Beyond the Score – The case for reintegrating improvisation and composition into classical piano lessons: Garreth Brooke
Last weekend I published a post highlighting a useful new website called pianocreativity.com. In today’s post, Garreth Brooke, who runs this website, has written his own article introducing his new project and sheds light on the importance of incorporating such an approach for use in piano lessons. One of the curious paradoxes of being a…
PianoCreativity.com
During the half term break I took a trip to Germany, a place I’ve been to work on many occasions, usually hosting bilingual piano classes. This time I went for a short holiday to visit a friend. The city of Gelsenkirchen is situated on the Ruhr where it’s primarily known as part of a sprawling…
International Women’s Day 2024: Celebrating 10 Women in Music
It’s been two years since Schott and I published our three-book series featuring music by women composers from over four centuries, Women Composers: A Graded Anthology for Piano. This publication has proved most popular, not only winning a Presto Music Award but, more importantly, reaching out to a new audience of pianists, whether they be…
A Master Class with Nikolai Lugansky
The Oxford Piano Festival is held annually in Oxford, UK. It is one of the few educational courses to film almost every session during their festival. This allows us to hear a wealth of extremely interesting piano classes given by renowned pianists. All of this is at our fingertips on YouTube. Russian pianist Nikolai Luganksy…
International Katherine Mansfield 100 Festival 2023
Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) is widely considered to be one of New Zealand’s most important modernist writers. Born and raised near Wellington, her father, Sir Harold Beauchamp, was the chairman of the Bank of New Zealand, her grandfather was a parliamentary electorate, and her cousin, Countess Elizabeth von Arnim, was also a well-known author. One of…
A Master Class with Stephen Kovacevich
It’s time for a masterclass and today’s public lesson was filmed at the Oxford Piano Festival last year. This recording was streamed live on August 4th and the video contains the entire class, which runs nearly three and a half hours in length. If like me, you’re a fan of observing piano lessons, you will…
Guildhall Young Artists Online – Preparing For Conservatoire Entry: A New Course
From September 2023, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London is offering an innovative new course for students. This advanced two-year online course is aimed at international musicians who are interested in studying for a degree at the Guildhall School or at any other UK music conservatoire. Students, who are of post Grade…
Judging a Piano Festival in Thailand
During the past year I’ve been teaching at Royal Holloway, which is part of the University of London. Employed as an external faculty lecturer, I’ve been working with undergraduate and postgraduate students. Every Monday I took the bus to the campus, which isn’t far away from where I live in Windsor, Berkshire. One morning, during…
A Master Class with Elisabeth Leonskaja
I hope you have time to relax and rejuvenate during this holiday period. I haven’t posted a masterclass for a while and I’ve missed them! Today’s class was recorded at the Oxford Piano Festival and was streamed live on July 31st 2022. Founded in 1999, this festival offers the opportunity for young pianists to work…