About me

Thirty years of teaching experience

I was born in São Paulo, Brazil, where I studied piano, organ and composition with some of the leading teachers in the country. I was an assistant organist at the age of fifteen and the principal organist in a main church at eighteen. During that time, I gained extensive experience as a chamber musician, vocal coach and choir conductor.

When I left school I went to Business School but continued all my musical activities. Although I had already been teaching for some time, it was during this period that I discovered my passion for passing on what I had learned.

I went to the Music University in Vienna to study piano and musical pedagogy properly and after only three years graduated with distinction. After that I remained in Vienna for private studies and teaching.

There followed many years in Northern Germany, where I worked as a pianist, organist, independent piano teacher and church musician. I was a lecturer for piano and piano pedagogy in Hamburg and I pursued my organ studies at the Academy of Ancient Music in Bremen, working on the most marvellous historical organs in Germany.

In 2001 my family and I moved back to Austria. Since 2005 I am teaching in Vienna again. My pupils have come from all over the world; from China, USA, Brazil, Korea, Canada, and from various European countries. I have also taught master courses in Austria, Germany, South Korea and Brazil.

For me, teaching is a fascinating experience. Many of my students have been busy professionals, doctors, lawyers and scientists, seeking a break to renew their piano skills or to learn piano for the first time. Some are music students seeking special orientation concerning their learning methods and interpretational approach. Many remain with me for a long time, extending their musical studies.

Methods

My Teaching Methods

Over the last thirty years I have developed teaching methods that aim to achieve a natural and organic development of the learner’s talents, based on the experiences of great teachers and musicians of the past such as J. S. Bach, C. P. E. Bach, Chopin and Liszt.

My students learn to understand the music, their instrument, the piano repertoire and technique. It is my goal to develop not only the “playing technique” but the musical person as a whole. Even my youngest students can understand principles of harmony and improvisation, as well as what makes a particular composer stand out or how to tell which period a piece is from.

I teach “technique” in the same way that great masters of the past did: through improvisation and by “playing” with the possibilities of the instrument. Music therefore becomes a language in which to express feelings and ideas.

I teach mainly the “classical” repertoire, but the programme is driven by the learner’s ideas: older music, classical, romantic, modern, song accompaniment or improvisation. If you’ve been to a classical concert and loved a piece you heard, or if you’re obsessed with the Star Wars theme, let me know and we’ll customise your learning to get you where you want to be!