The Traditional Russian School of Piano Performance

Mariya has been teaching me piano for 6 years. She is very knowledgeable in music performance and pedagogy. Coupled with her passion, my playing has improved leaps and bounds both technically and expression-wise ever since learning from her. Her encouragement for me to participate in recitals and competitions continue to foster my confidence in the instrument.

Under Mariya's tutelage, I am much more emotionally and intellectually bonded to music, a gift which she inspires me to pass on to my own piano students. Mariya is an open-minded teacher who welcomes new ideas and questions, creating a positive learning environment. Meanwhile, she sets high expectations for her students, as she does for herself, to challenge them to attain new heights in the art. Her school is definitely one of the best choices for those who adore music and wish to pursue for self-betterment in piano.

I started piano lessons with Mariya when I was 40 years old. Over the past three years Mariya has helped me to transform the knowledge of basic playing and theory I acquired as a child into a real understanding of how notes written on a page are made into music.

I surprise myself on a regular basis with the giant leaps I am making in my technical and sight reading skills during my study with Mariya. I am accomplishing this improvement through immersion in challenging and complex pieces that are well beyond what I thought I could ever play. I love romantic and early 20th century classical piano, and with Mariya's guidance I am learning to interpret music from Rachmaninov, Ravel, Liszt, Granados and many others.

Mariya is an extraordinary musician and a patient teacher. I believe my investment in piano study with Mariya has unlocked a lifetime of intellectual and artistic challenges, and I recommend her with great excitement to any adult who wants to take up piano again in a serious way.