Thanks kitty. Ithaca was a wonderful place. I miss it sorely.
I forgot to mention one thing: Adele Marcus was a great teacher. This is not because she gave special technical exercises to her students. This is because she knew the potential of the piano to make amazing sounds, and she had the ear to guide her students to a full musical palette. She knew exactly what the audience should hear, and she accepted nothing less from her students. To a fault: many of her students suffered psychologically as a result of study with her, and most of her students vow never to treat their students as she did them. In the end, though, technique is really the wrong side of the coin to be thinking of here. What you really need to learn is how to listen. I have found in my own and the studies of my colleagues that many of us have the physical ability to sound amazing at the piano. What we lack is the mental fortitude to listen critically to our sound. If you find that, no matter what you do, you cannot get a sound you want, then ask your teacher for exercises and advice. Otherwise, listen harder. There is no secret to great piano playing other than one must always, always be listening.