Good Graduate Programs/professors

[medtmann]

Hey all,

Do any of you have any recommendations for schools with good graduate programs in piano or of any great professors out there? I am looking primarily at schools in US. I am open to any part of the country and any school, as long as the professor is a good match for me. It is also necessary that the school offers excellent scholarships or financial aid, as that will be imperative for me to be able to attend!

On a side note, I am very dedicated to the music of Medtner, and it would be wonderful to study with someone who is well versed in his music (although I know that that is a long shot).

[medtnerfan]

Hey what's your favourite Medtner Sonata, I hope it's not sonata spamka, opus 25 no 3

[medtmann]

Not sure if your asking seriously or not, but regardless I love almost all the sonatas. I am currently obsessed with the sonata triade op 11. How about yourself?

[medtnerfan]

Oh nice, the sonata triade is pretty cool, they're supposed to represent "To Werther, Elegy, and Reconciliation" based on Geothe's Trilogy of Passion. My favourite is probably Sonata Romantica

Sorry for my sarcasm in my initial question, but I was worries that you were a spam account (no offense, it's not uncommon to see that here every now and then).

Medtner is my favourite composer so I was actually looking into professors that are interested in Medtner last year. Some names I came across are from the US are Cahill Smith and Frank Huang. There's also a Paul Stewart who teaches in Montreal, Canada.

Yeah, it's kind of hard to find professors in North America that are obsessed with Medtner.

[medtmann]

Ah yes that’s a great sonata! And I understand why I might come off as spam, this is my first post.

Thanks for sharing your info on professors that are deeply involved in Medtner’s music. I know of all those pianists you mentioned, and I actually really like the playing of Cahill Smith. I did not know they taught at universities though.

[medtnerfan]

By the way, here's a paper (attached) that I have read a while ago, which will give very good insights when performing his works.
If you can't find a professor that shares your love for Medtner, then become that professor yourself, haha.

[medtmann]

Yes thank you for the doc! I actually have read chunks of it already, just not in thorough detail. It is a very useful document. And yes haha that is certainly the end goal!

[visitor]

Definitely look at UNT in TX , they have Vladimir Viardo and Joseph Banowetz (and mamy other really amazing artists and teachers ), but those two draw S class/top tier talent from all over, my former and current teachers were former and current students of them both.
https://music.unt.edu/faculty-and-staff/joseph-banowetz
https://music.unt.edu/faculty-and-staff/vladimir-viardo


Down the road also really good for graduate and performers artist diploma (think a more performance conservatory oriented slant to the study within a university environment), Krasimira Jordan,amazing and honestly just a super cool lady I know /knew her in the past  and have known many of her former students,she studied with Emil  Gilels and Stanislav Neuhaus  among others.
https://sites.baylor.edu/krassimira_jordan/
I have to confirm a a few details though,might have a couple other places you might want to sniff out but you could should look into those I know kids that turned down some top super famous schools for a chance to be in those studios

[chrismaninoff]

I know you mentioned the states, but I want to just throw in two canadian schools, specifically because you mentioned Medtner. 

McGill's Ilya Poletaev has recorded a lot of Medtner and makes a lot of students study or research him, and Stéphane Lemelin I think also knows his music well.

And the Universite de Montreal, while not an amazing school, is where Paul Lewis teaches, who is recording the complete works of Medtner I believe.  At least, he's recorded all the piano sonatas and is either done or close to finishing the chamber sonatas. 

Both schools have some scholarships, but they are way cheaper than American schools and UdeM, especially, is not very competitive.  Just a thought.