An Evening with pianist, Yuja Wang at S.F. Davies Hall

Yuja Wang presented a colorful solo piano recital in more ways that one..

The right chemistry between piano teacher and student

If ever I've seen and heard a full-blown affinity between a mentor and pupil, it's conspicuously revealed in these two performances that are a harmonious blend of beautiful phrasing and fluid motions. And as the saying goes, "The fruit doesn't fall far from the (learning) tree." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otAShCFD2hc&feature=youtu.be http://youtu.be/KkXh0qWGE0k The student, Daniel Mori, has been studying…

Happy Birthday, Irina Morozova!

When I first discovered Irina's collection of performances on You Tube, I surely thought heaven had descended to earth. She produced an ethereal singing tone inspired by imagination, but fine tuned with technical fluidity. Without a doubt, her repository of musical insights expanded my own piano learning journey as well as those of her students…

“The Secret Genius” of Pianist, Vitaly Margulis

A serendipitous Facebook Friend request from Jura Margulis on the eve of my birthday, led to this bundle of love delivered on You Tube. As oxymoronic as it may sound, the pianist's father, Vitaly, channeled through cyber, wooed me into a sanctuary of beauty by his liquid phrasing and total immersion in Chopin's palette. It…

Yevgeny Sudbin, another Russian Pianist topples my day!

I had my heart set on working out at the gym before noon, but as fate had it, I was stopped in my tracks by the breathtaking artistry of Yevgeny Sudbin. (only 32 years old) And it was merely 24 hours after I'd cried over Nikolai Lugansky's Schumann Intermezzo from Faschingsschwank aus Wien. Could these…

A Piano Masterclass in a universal language

Into the wee hours of the morning I was mesmerized by a Masterclass conducted by Dimitri Bashkirov at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, France. The great Russian virtuoso and teacher, a descendant of the Leschetizky era by his student association with the legendary piano master's wife, communicated in Russian with a third-party French…