Does any one piano method or playing approach work?

Most piano teachers get inquiries from parents who are riveted to "methods." The most frequently posed question is, "can you tell me how you teach?" Under duress and painted into a corner, a prospective mentor's perfect, all-encompassing answer seems unattainable. And upon closer consideration, a boundary limited approach for every student who crosses the threshold…

Ruminations about why some virtuoso pianists book on the continent, leaving the US behind

I couldn't help but obsess over why Grigory Sokolov, for example has no foreseeable concert appearances in the US. Surely I would have flown to NYC, perhaps for a LIVE main course plus a dessert of encores at Carnegie. Horowitz said on camera, circa, 1987, that the 57th Street Hall of musical fame was NOT…