by Jeannette Fang July 26, 2014 Hotel Reginna Boris Slutsky is not a fan of limitations. One would expect, on having the duty of giving a morning masterclass on the last day of a fully loaded recital, that he would be eager to stop on time. But with every student, he would get so immersed into teaching that the five-minute warnings were rightful annoyances to the adventure. The bright Mikowai Ashwill began with Chopin's B-flat minor sonata, which he played with vigor and t

by Jeannette Fang Hotel Reginna Thursday, July 24, 2014 When Boris Slutsky teaches, he gets this glint in his eye. Like he has some sort of secret, just for you, and he’s going to help you find it. That’s the fascinating thing about masterclasses. When you’re in a lesson with Slutsky, you don’t really notice his expression because you’re so immersed in the very pithy things he’s telling you. But when you’re watching him from your seat in the audience’s overlord distance,

by Jeannette Fang Hotel Reginna July 21, 2014 Yoshikazu Nagai likes to listen. He poses a question to you and then waits with slightly unnerving calm as you fumble, because the questions he asks are not ones that really have a right answer. They are ones that ask for your interpretation, opinion, and feelings. In Tuesday’s masterclass, he made it a point to begin each commentary with a direct question to the student about how they think about the piece. And he didn’t just

by Jeannette Fang July 19, 2014 Hotel Reginna Often what we latch onto first in a masterclass isn't necessarily how pithy or novel the comments are, but how sincere and full of good will the teacher is. We are, after all, humans who feel first and think later. Jim Giles is such a gentleman that good will just kind of colors everything he does. But in the way he treats the student and talks about music, one senses that his deepest concern is for helping students achieve an ea

by Jeannette Fang July 18, 2014 Hotel Reginna Charismatic and warm, Mayron Tsong has this appealing quality of making you feel like her new best friend. She is so intellight, nurturing and empathetic that you immediately feel that "gets" you and the special snowflake that you are. One can see how one by one students fell in love with her on thursday's masterclass. The first performer, 14 year old Xinyi Zhang with Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu, was understandably a little ner

by Kyoo Hye Lim Yoshikazu Nagai, professor of San Francisco Conservatory, began the masterclass, instantly infusing the Reginna Auditorium with his friendly down-to-earth character to set up the highly communicative atmosphere. The first piece was Haydn Sonata in B minor, Hob.XVI:32, performed by Rebecca Wuu, who displayed a mature interpretation and musical ideas. Nagai worked on details with Wuu to make the sound more refined, also delivering the idea of psychological cha

by Moon Kyoung Kim Professor Thomas Mastroianni, renowned president of American Liszt Society, gave a stimulating masterclass to four enthusiastic pianists from all over the world. The afternoon began with Chopin’s lyrical Nocturne Op. 9 in E-flat major, performed by Mark Germer. His beautiful sound quality and tasteful timing created an inspiring moment for the audience. The suggestions Professor Mastroianni gave to Germer were detailed, and succeeded in bringing more life

by Jeannette Fang As mentioned before, Barnes is an out of the box thinker, which he demonstrated at Tuesday’s masterclass by using his newly purchased shoes as a “dolce analogy.” Crazy? But effective! He passed it around the audience, having them touch the rather indecently delightful leather, which, truth be told, made quite an impression of connecting what feels SO good to what would sound as good. Chia Yun Tsai started off the morning with a strong performance of t

by Kyoo Hye Lim Thomas Hecht, Professor of Piano at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore, gave a masterclass on July 9, 2013 at the Reginna Auditorium, Maiori, Italy. Hecht’s compelling way of communicating and interacting with the student and the audience allowed everyone to enjoy fascinating glimpses of Hecht’s musical concepts, thoughts and pianism. The class began with Natalie Nedvetsky playing the elegiac slow movement of Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 with passion

by Josh Wright John Perry never ceases to amaze audiences, and this masterclass was no exception. Students played Beethoven Sonata Op.109, Chopin Ballade No.4, and Chopin Sonata No.2. All performances were skillfully executed and played beautifully, but each student's playing was greatly enhanced by this master teacher's knowledge and instruction. Various concepts were covered, and a few were particularly noteworthy. On the Beethoven, he unveiled a great truth about how tem