The Piano Pod - a global hub for innovation, education, and connection in classical piano music

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🎥 JOIN THE PREMIERE Tuesday, November 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET

https://thepianopod.com/schumann-beyond-the-myths-feat-jarred-dunn-yamaha-tonebase-artist-scholar/

Yamaha Artist, pianist, and researcher Jarred Dunn returns to The Piano Pod for a Season 7 alumni conversation about his latest album, Schumann Daydreams, released by Lexicon Classics.

What if one of classical music’s most iconic composers has been reduced to a diagnosis—his distinctive musical language too often explained away as a symptom of mental illness? In Schumann Beyond...

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Blair Boone-Migura, founder and executive director of The Art Song Preservation Society of New York, joins The Piano Pod for a conversation about art song, human connection, preservation, transmission, and the next chapter of ASPSNY.

A voice teacher, vocal coach, pianist, arts leader, former public radio host, and cultural commentator, Blair has spent 17 years building ASPSNY into a home for singers, pianists, teachers, and audiences devoted to the art song tradition.

In this episode...

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🎹 TRAILER | Art Song, Human Connection

For Season 7 Episode 2 of The Piano Pod, we welcome longtime supporter and friend Blair Boone-Migura, founder and executive director of The Art Song Preservation Society of New York (ASPSNY).

From ASPSNY’s 17-year journey and the Summer of Song Festival to the organization’s exciting next chapter, Blair shares his story and his commitment to preserving art song through culture, mentorship, and human connection.

🎬 Join us for the YouTub...

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This episode is brought to you by the Alexander & Buono Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping promising classical musicians launch and sustain their careers while cultivating new audiences for classical music.

Learn more

Pianists Anna and Dmitri Shelest of the Shelest Piano Duo join Maestro Michael Hall, Artistic Director of the Brandywine Valley Symphony, for a conversation about music, collaboration, and the upcoming U.S. premiere of Ukrainian composer Oleh Bezborodko’s Steel, Vi...

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Here is the trailer for Steel, Violet, Rage at Carnegie Hall, a special Season 7 Alumni Episode of The Piano Pod.

Pianists Anna and Dmitri Shelest of the Shelest Piano Duo join Maestro Michael Hall, Artistic Director of the Brandywine Valley Symphony, to take us behind their October 18 performance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

The concert opens Razom for Ukraine’s fourth annual Ukrainian Cultural Festival and features the U.S. premiere of Uk...

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Season 7 begins with Yamaha Artist, composer, author, and UCLA professor Inna Faliks.

In this conversation, we explore her recent album Stranger Things: Piano Works from a Young Refugee’s Backpack, the childhood compositions she carried with her from Odesa, her 2024 album Manuscripts Don’t Burn, her relationship with literature and contemporary music, Gabriel Prokofiev’s Minimoog concerto, her memoir Weight in the Fingertips, and the teachers and experiences that shaped her artistic voice.

From memory...

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From childhood compositions carried out of Odesa to performing a concerto on Minimoog, Inna Faliks has built an artistic life around memory, curiosity, and reinvention.

What happens when the music you wrote as a child returns decades later?

Here’s the trailer for the Season 7 premiere of The Piano Pod: Carrying Memory Forward, featuring Yamaha Artist, composer, and author Inna Faliks.

We talk about her latest album, Stranger Things: Piano Works from a...

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Welcome to Season 7 of The Piano Pod: Culture & Courage.

After six seasons and more than 100 episodes, the show is entering a new chapter. In this short introduction, host Yukimi Song shares what is changing, why the podcast is moving to a monthly schedule, and how her own evolving identity and work inspired this season’s theme.

What remains unchanged is the heart of The Piano Pod: thoughtful, authentic conversations that look beyond professional biographies to...

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Know someone who embodies Culture & Courage?

I'm currently curating Season 7 of The Piano Pod and looking for musicians, educators, composers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and creative leaders who are expanding what it means to be an artist today.

If someone comes to mind—or if that person is you—I would love to hear from you.

Please submit your nomination here:

Nominate Guest Here

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How do we bring our full musical selves to the stage?

In this Season 6 finale of The Piano Pod, concert pianist, composer, arranger, educator, and artistic leader David Berry joins host Yukimi Song for a rich and deeply personal conversation on virtuosity, improvisation, composition, contemporary music, artistic identity, and the connections that unite seemingly different musical worlds.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School, Berry has built a multifaceted...

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🎙️ SEASON 6 FINALE TRAILER

How do we bring our full musical selves to the stage?

In the Season 6 finale of The Piano Pod 🎙, host Yukimi Song sits down with concert pianist, composer, arranger, educator, and artistic leader David Berry for a rich and deeply personal conversation on virtuosity, improvisation, composition, contemporary music, and artistic identity.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School, Berry ha...

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What does it mean to become a "Sound Liberator"?

In this episode of The Piano Pod, pianist, composer, educator, filmmaker, scholar, and advocate Joe Williams joins host Yukimi Song for a wide-ranging conversation on artistry, legacy, belonging, improvisation, education, and the evolving landscape of concert music.

Currently pursuing a PhD in composition at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Williams has built a multifaceted career championing composers of African descent while developing hi...

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🎙️ NEW TRAILER: Sound Liberation

What does it mean to be a Sound Liberator?

In our upcoming episode of The Piano Pod, pianist, composer, educator, and scholar Joe Williams reflects on artistry, identity, freedom, Black excellence, and the power of music to preserve histories and connect communities.

“My responsibility is really to free people through my art.”

A powerful conversation on belonging, authenticity, representation, and what it means to move through the world...

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In this episode of The Piano Pod, we are joined by Steinway Artist, pianist, and pedagogue Dr. Oscar Macchioni.

Born in Argentina, shaped by years of study in Poland, and now serving as Associate Professor of Piano Pedagogy at the University of North Texas, Macchioni reflects on a life in music that moves across borders — culturally, intellectually, and artistically.

A central focus of this conversation is his album Mostly Tangos: Piano Music from the Am...

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Here is the Trailer for:

Season 6 Episode 18: Beyond Borders: From Argentina to Poland to Texas—Oscar Macchioni Reflects on a Life in Music

In our upcoming episode, we welcome Steinway Artist and renowned piano pedagogue Dr. Oscar Macchioni.

This conversation goes far beyond tango.

Together, we explore: • tango as a universal concert genre • artistic labels and misconceptions • audience engagement and concert programming • Szymanowski and William Bolcom • music across borders and cultures • a...

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In this episode of The Piano Pod, we are joined by concert pianist Anna Shelest.

Her work spans major orchestral collaborations, recording projects, and repertoire advocacy — but this conversation centers on her latest album A Romantic from Kharkiv; Music of Sergei Bortkiewicz and the deeper artistic and cultural meaning behind it.

Together, we explore how music becomes a form of testimony — shaped by memory, identity, and history — and how Shelest’s connection to Kharkiv, Ukraine...

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🎬 TRAILER — Music as Witness

What does it mean for music to carry memory?

In this upcoming episode of The Piano Pod, concert pianist Anna Shelest traces her roots from Kharkiv, Ukraine—through forgotten voices and the music of women composers she continues to bring into focus.

This is not about novelty. It is about identity, history, and a lifelong artistic search for voice.

Throughout the episode, you will hear music you may...

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In this episode of The Piano Pod, we welcome Joy Luck Trio — a newly formed ensemble bringing together pianist Donna Weng Friedman, pipa virtuoso Gao Hong, and erhu virtuoso Karen Han-Ottosson.

Together, these three Chinese-American artists unite piano, pipa, and erhu in a rare chamber collaboration rooted in heritage and shaped by contemporary expression.

In this conversation, we explore how the trio first came together, the histories and sound worlds of the pipa and er...

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What happens when piano, pipa, and erhu come together in one ensemble?

Tonight on The Piano Pod, meet Joy Luck Trio — Donna Weng Friedman, Gao Hong, and Karen Han-Ottosson — three acclaimed artists creating a bold new chamber voice rooted in heritage, virtuosity, and contemporary expression.

In this powerful conversation, we explore the origins of the trio, the fascinating histories of the pipa and erhu, remarkable careers spanning concert halls and film soundtracks, and the exci...

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In this episode of The Piano Pod, we are joined by composer, conductor, & Music Director at Univeristy of Cologne, Michael Ostrzyga

His work spans composition, conducting, editorial scholarship, and large-scale projects — but this conversation centers on his piano writing, especially his recent solo album Perseus.

Together, we explore how music begins — whether from structure, memory, or sound itself — and how these ideas shape a body of work that moves between tradition and exploration. We also d...

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Here is the trailer for Season 6, Episode 15 of The Piano Pod. Guest: Michael Ostrzyga — Composer & Conductor In this episode, we explore his piano writing, centered around his album Perseus — a body of work shaped by structure, memory, and lived experience. In our conversation, we talked about:

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In this episode of The Piano Pod, concert pianist Han Chen joins TPP for a deep conversation about virtuosity, vision, and what it means to build something meaningful in today’s classical music landscape.

Han Chen is a GRAMMY Award–nominated pianist known for his fearless approach to some of the most demanding repertoire in the piano canon — from György Ligeti’s Complete Piano Études to Beethoven’s Hammerklavier. His recent recording of Florence Price’s Piano Concer...

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Here is the trailer for our upcoming episode with GRAMMY-nominated pianist Han Chen.

From mastering Ligeti to building Infinite Staircase, this conversation goes beyond performance — into vision, risk, and creating something that lasts.

🎥 Premieres tonight at 8 PM ET: https://youtu.be/2JqDeHYSk58?si=QgFPTfWf0ch_7WBl

🎧 Audio: https://linktr.ee/thepianopodaudio

Read Our Blog: https://open.substack.com/pub/thepianopod/p/meet-our-guest-han-chen-concert-pianist?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

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Accents of Love: Vivian Fang Liu on Artistry, Belonging, and Music for the Next Generation

The Piano Pod — Season 6, Episode 13

In this episode of The Piano Pod, pianist, singer-songwriter, composer, educator, and music researcher Vivian Fang Liu joins host Yukimi Song for a powerful conversation about identity, creativity, and the role of music in shaping the next generation.

Vivian Fang Liu is a classically trained pianist whose work spans classical performance, cross-genre so...

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Here is the trailer for our upcoming episode of The Piano Pod.

Concert pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer Vivian Fang Liu joins us for a powerful conversation about music, identity, and belonging.

From her award-winning children’s albums to cross-genre artistry shaped by classical piano, Vivian shares how her work brings together performance, storytelling, and education to empower the next generation.

🎥 Full episode premieres tonight, March 17, at 8 PM ET on YouTube.https://youtu.be/bH...

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Composer Sean Hickey joins The Piano Pod to discuss Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — his monumental piano cycle inspired by Yuval Noah Harari’s bestselling book.

From imagined orders and human cooperation to empire, biology, AI, and the future of artistic sustainability, this episode explores what it means to create — and remain human — in a rapidly changing world. Performed by pianist Vladimir Rumyantsev, Sapiens translates big philosophical questions into sound, structure, and silence.

This con...

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🎥 Here is the trailer for our new eps featuring Sean Hickey, Composer/Record Label Executive

Composer Sean Hickey joins The Piano Pod to discuss Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind for the Piano — his monumental piano cycle inspired by Yuval Noah Harari’s bestselling book.

From imagined orders and human cooperation to empire, biology, AI, and the future of artistic sustainability, this conversation explores what it means to create — and remain human — in a rapidly acc...

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This surprise bonus episode was created in collaboration with Mannes School of Music at The New School.

In this conversation, I sit down with Pavlina Dokovska — internationally active concert pianist, Chair of the Piano Department at Mannes School of Music, and Artistic Director of the Mannes International Piano Festival — to explore what it truly means to build artists in today’s musical and cultural moment.

We discuss serious piano study, long-term mentorship, artistic identity, and th...

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🚨 Bonus Episode Drops Tonight

Here’s the trailer.

Building Artists Through Music & Mentorship with Pavlina Dokovska

What does it really take to build an artist?

In this special collaboration, The Piano Pod sits down with Pavlina Dokovska — internationally active concert pianist, Chair of the Piano Department at Mannes School of Music, and Artistic Director of the Mannes International Piano Festival — for a candid conversation on serious piano study, mentorship, and artistic...

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In this episode of The Piano Pod, host Yukimi Song sits down with pianist, composer, visual artist, and poet Asiya Korepanova for a wide-ranging conversation on extreme repertoire, transcription as a creative act, long-form artistic commitment, and what it means to think at scale as a musician today.

Born into a deeply musical family in Izhevsk, Russia, and now based in the United States, Asiya’s career is defined by projects many would consider “impossible”: performing the co...

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🎬 Official Trailer — Fearless Visionwith Asiya Korepanova

For our upcoming episode of The Piano Pod, host Yukimi Song sits down with Asiya Korepanova — pianist, composer, visual artist, and poet — for a deep conversation on long-form artistic commitment, transcription as a creative act, and what it means to build a life in music shaped by depth, curiosity, and fearless vision.

Asiya is known for her daring piano transcriptions and for taking on extreme repertoire, including the complete...

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In this episode of The Piano Pod, host Yukimi Song sits down with pianist, recording artist, and multidisciplinary creator Aïda Lahlou for an in-depth conversation on Ravel’s Miroirs, sound as physical reality, and what it means to build an artistic life through curiosity, risk, and purpose.

At the center of the conversation is Aïda’s debut album, Mirrors and Echoes—a recording that places Ravel’s Miroirs as its reflective core, surrounded by carefully...

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🎬 OFFICIAL TRAILER Season 6, Episode 10 Mirrors and Echoes — Ravel, Resonance, and Reframing Tradition

What happens when Ravel’s Miroirs becomes the center of a much larger listening journey? In this episode of The Piano Pod, I sit down with Aïda Lahlou — UK-based, award-winning pianist and multidisciplinary artist — for an in-depth conversation on her debut album Mirrors and Echoes and the ideas shaping her work today.

At the heart of our discussion is Ravel: how Miroirs func...

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In this episode of The Piano Pod, host Yukimi Song sits down with concert pianist and recording artist Ammiel Bushakevitz for a wide-ranging conversation on Franz Schubert, the German Lied tradition, and what makes 19th-century music speak powerfully to 21st-century audiences.

Ammiel shares insights from his major long-term projects, including Schubert 200 — a multi-album Lied collaboration building toward Schubert’s bicentennial in 2028 — and his ongoing recording of Schubert’s complete solo piano works. We explore intimacy versus scale, c...

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🎬 OFFICIAL TRAILER

Season 6, Episode 9 Schubert Now — Concert Pianist, Ammiel Bushakevitz on Storytelling, Connection, and the Road to the 2028 Bicentennial

Why does Schubert still matter today?

In our first episode of 2026, I sit down with concert pianist and recording artist Ammiel Bushakevitz for a wide-ranging conversation on Schubert, the German Lied tradition, and why intimacy — not scale — may shape the future of classical music.

From his bold Schubert 200 project and the j...

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To close out 2025, The Piano Pod brings you a special year-end bonus episode featuring composer and storyteller Stefania De Kenessey. Earlier this season, we explored her MICROVIDS project; today, Stefania takes us behind the scenes of another major undertaking: her opera The Bonfire of the Vanities, based on Tom Wolfe’s iconic novel.

In this conversation, Stefania reflects on the creative risks, structural challenges, and artistic values behind adapting a 700-page book for the operatic stage. Sh...

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✨ Happy Holidays, friends!

This extra segment comes from Season 6, Episode 2 with the award-winning Mada & Hugh Piano Duo. Our conversation ran longer than expected, and while this part didn’t make it into the final episode, I couldn’t keep it from you — it’s just too good.

In this excerpt, Mada & Hugh open up about creativity in its purest form:

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What does a piano recital have to do with war, faith, and forgiveness?

In this episode of The Piano Pod, pianist and educator Anli Lin Tong shares the story behind Bells of Nagasaki: Music for Contemplation—a profoundly moving concert created for the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

What began as a single song her father used to sing—The Bells of Nagasaki—became a powerful act of remembrance, shaped by the le...

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The trailer for our upcoming episode is now live—and it offers a glimpse into one of the most reflective and quietly powerful conversations of this season.

In Season 6, Episode 8 of The Piano Pod, I sit down with pianist and educator Anli Lin Tong for a deeply moving conversation about music as memory, faith, lineage, and moral witness.

At the heart of this episode is Anli’s recent project, Bells of Nagasaki: Music for Cont...

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In this episode, I sit down with pianist and educator Mirna Lekić for a conversation that spans continents, sound worlds, and the deeper layers of what music can mean in a human life.

Born and raised in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and now based in New York City, Mirna brings a rare perspective to the piano — one shaped by resilience, migration, devotion, and an unshakable belief in music as a stabilizing, healing force.

We...