• Concert pianist,
• Professor at the University of the Silesia in Katowice, Poland, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music,
• Chairman of the Jury of the 5th International F. Chopin Piano Competition in Lima, Peru,
• dedicated and experienced teacher - my students are prizewinners of more than 20 international piano competitions.
• Invited to give masterclasses at many Music Universities aroung the world: Norges Musikkhøgskole, Oslo, Norway, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China, Quanzhou Art School, China, Fujian Normal University – College of Music, China, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China, Heredia, Costa Rica – Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Conservatorio Nacional de Musica, Quito, Ecuador, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil, Federal University in Porto Alegre, the Nanyang Academy of Art, Singapore, Edna Manley College of Performing Arts, Kingston, Jamaica, the Conservatory of Music in Lima, Peru

EXPERIENCE, THOUGHTS AND METHODS FOR BUILDING/DEVELOPING YOUNG PIANISTS OVER A COURSE OF SEVERAL YEARS:

Over the years I have already developed my strategy of teaching and improving young musicians. Every student is different and needs a different approach so in my opinion one “method” doesn’t work for everybody.

At first I carefully assess and observe the already existing skills of new student. At the beginning I always put the emphasis on the technical problems, as the technique is the basic of expressing ourselves through the music. During the first lessons I decide which technical exercises are of the greatest importance to which student and then I strongly recommend and motivate the students to practice them daily. I also give them a kind of lecture about how to memorize the music, showing them different techniques as I demand to memorize pieces as soon as possible. Generally I do not usually accept playing from the score the pieces that should be performed later from memory. I always ask the new students to prepare the list of already played repertoire so that I can analyze it and decide the repertoire for the future. When choosing a repertoire I always prepare a 3,4 or 5 years plan (depending on how long the student plans to work with me). For every student the plan is a little different, depending on their level and skills and needs.

Apart from the technique and repertoire I recommend my students to explore the literature, studying philosophy and psychology, the history of music and biographies of great composers and artists of all times. I also encourage them to study other fields of art. My vision of ideal graduate is a pianist who is a broad-based artist, with rich soul and imagination and interesting personality. This can and should be shaped during the years of studying and I am aware of the fact how important it is for the piano professor to be an inspiration for young students.

Another aspect of the development is working on stage fright and public performances. I always try to explain my students my own attitude to public performances – which is based on a pleasure and happiness. These feelings are based on the philosophy of sharing the music with the audience. I put the emphasis on the fact that the music should always have a message which the student want to

transmit to people. This message should be as identical to the composer’s message as possible.

Teachers and pianists I was studying with:

• Jozef Stompel (Poland)
• Alexei Orlovetsky (Russia)
• Jeffrey Swann (USA)
• Arie Vardi (Israel)
• Menahem Pressler (USA)
• Klaus Hellwig (Germany)
• Michel Beroff (France)
• Philippe Entremont (France)
• Andrzej Jasiński (Poland)