Criteria
The Knabe Institute, in continuing the legacy of William Knabe, is dedicated to promoting good piano playing at all levels. A student will never reach his/her potential without proper instruction. And, whether or not the student chooses a career in music, it is our belief that all piano students should be taught well, even from the first lesson.
Teachers listed on this page have met our criteria in one of the following ways:
Teachers listed on this page have met our criteria in one of the following ways:
|
1. The teacher has had a student in the Knabe Young Artist Competition finals. 2. The teacher has had a student win a prize in the Knabe Summer Festival (Ivy International) Competition. 3. The teacher has completed an application, on which he/she has demonstrated the following: |
|
The William Knabe Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. This list is a free to use. Provided our criteria is met, there is no charge for a teacher listing.
If you would like to support the Knabe Institute's efforts to promote great piano playing, then click here for our donation page.
If you would like to support the Knabe Institute's efforts to promote great piano playing, then click here for our donation page.
Proper technique from the start - personal experiences from the Knabe Institute's President
Recommended Instructors
Contact Information Coming Soon
California
|
Tanya Schweiger, Rancho Santa Margarita
|
Maryland
|
Ed Berlett, Lutherville
Dr. Jarl Hulbert, Nottingham Bok Hwa Kim, Ellicott City Olga Kuperstein, Ellicott City Vivian Kwok, Rockville Hyun Park, Potomac Hyun Sook Park, Baltimore Svetlana Volkova, Potomac Kuei-I Wu, Gaithersburg |
Pennsylvania
|
Robert Durso, Philadelphia (also New York)
|
Texas
|
Dr. Ming Ge, Austin
|
Virginia
|
Silva Blazquez, Centreville
Darya Gabay, Fairfax Margarita Gramaticova, McLean Dr. Marjorie Lee, Vienna James Litzelman, Arlington Lisa Sarratt, Potomac Falls Shelby Sender, Charlottesville |
Washington, DC
|
Katerina Zaitseva
|
Proper Technique from the Start
When I was quite young, I remember accompanying my father to lessons in students’ homes. A respected pianist and composer, he eventually moved the lessons to our small home, and my siblings and I would try extra hard to stay quiet while he taught. Later in my childhood, I remember doing school work in a neighboring room while he taught lessons at a local piano store.
My father dedicated his life to piano - even authoring his own theory-based method to accelerate student progress. I remember how he would complain about teachers who accepted money for lessons, but never really taught students how to play – students he came across who took lessons for 2 years or more and still couldn’t read music, couldn’t play basic scales or chords, and knew nothing about technique or theory. As for me, I was the typical kid who did not want to practice, and so, although I absorbed much of his method, I didn’t get many lessons with my father – something I regret today.
My father became ill and passed away shortly after I turned 16, and I made the decision to make piano my career. After completing a bachelors degree, I accepted a scholarship to study in Vienna, Austria, where I attended the state academy (the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst) and studied with Professor Walter Fleischmann. It came as quite a shock when I discovered that I would practically have to start from the beginning. Even with a bachelors in piano, I spent the first six months on basic technique. And practicing on an upright acoustic piano was forbidden – all playing had to take place on a grand piano (because of the difference in the action). What I had learned from my father’s method in theoretical training was now being supplemented by hard technique.
I commented to Professor Fleischmann at one point, “It would have been much easier if I had learned this before. Shouldn’t teachers work on this technique with piano students from the beginning?” I remember the pensive and slightly melancholy look in his eyes when he responded that yes, they should, but they don’t.
My father dedicated his life to piano - even authoring his own theory-based method to accelerate student progress. I remember how he would complain about teachers who accepted money for lessons, but never really taught students how to play – students he came across who took lessons for 2 years or more and still couldn’t read music, couldn’t play basic scales or chords, and knew nothing about technique or theory. As for me, I was the typical kid who did not want to practice, and so, although I absorbed much of his method, I didn’t get many lessons with my father – something I regret today.
My father became ill and passed away shortly after I turned 16, and I made the decision to make piano my career. After completing a bachelors degree, I accepted a scholarship to study in Vienna, Austria, where I attended the state academy (the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst) and studied with Professor Walter Fleischmann. It came as quite a shock when I discovered that I would practically have to start from the beginning. Even with a bachelors in piano, I spent the first six months on basic technique. And practicing on an upright acoustic piano was forbidden – all playing had to take place on a grand piano (because of the difference in the action). What I had learned from my father’s method in theoretical training was now being supplemented by hard technique.
I commented to Professor Fleischmann at one point, “It would have been much easier if I had learned this before. Shouldn’t teachers work on this technique with piano students from the beginning?” I remember the pensive and slightly melancholy look in his eyes when he responded that yes, they should, but they don’t.
Dr. Jarl Hulbert teaching a masterclass at the Silk Road Festival in Xi'An, China
|
In publishing this piano teacher list, our hope is to see students take lessons with piano instructors who know how (and are willing) to train students properly from the start. And likewise, we hope to motivate teachers who do not meet our criteria to better themselves and their teaching environment. - Jarl Hulbert, Ph.d. President William Knabe Piano Institute |