Teaching What You Compose and Play

 Tomoko is known for both her piano performance and her piano teaching ability. Those same skills and careers apply to several outstanding classical piano composers. Here is a sampling.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a prolific teacher who instructed both his family members and university students. His famous collections of keyboard music, such as the Inventions and The Well-Tempered Clavier, were expressly written for instructional purposes. His pedagogy focused on attentive listening, finger independence, clear articulation, and a strong understanding of harmony. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) earned a significant income from teaching piano to members of the nobility to supplement his income from concerts and commissions. His lessons combined performance practice, compositional theory, and technique training, sometimes even during informal settings like billiards. However, Mozart thought he could teach more by simply playing a piece for a student than through verbal instruction alone.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) taught piano lessons throughout his career to supplement his income, especially when he started out and before his hearing loss became severe. His most famous pupil was Carl Czerny, who documented and passed on Beethoven's methods for interpreting his piano works. Czerny's pedagogical approach is considered the foundation of modern piano technique. 

Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) earned a significant portion of his income by teaching piano to aristocratic students in Paris. He was a meticulous and passionate teacher who focused on beautiful, expressive tone and fluidity, which he often demonstrated on a second piano. His method emphasized relaxation and natural hand movement, rather than the rigid, mechanical exercises common at the time. Students were taught using works by Bach, Mozart, Hummel, and Chopin himself.

Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was a legendary piano teacher who instructed hundreds of students in his masterclasses. He never charged for his lessons, which was a source of frustration for rival teachers. Rather than drilling technique, he focused on musical interpretation, and he used his lessons to discuss a piece's form, proportion, and emotional character.

Clara Schumann (1819–1896) was a highly regarded pianist and composer – and piano teacher – of the Romantic era.  Her disciplined and traditionalist style of playing, which emphasized a singing tone and clarity, influenced many students.

Fall for these September Composers

 It is the start of the school year in many countries, and it is the month that several famous piano composers were born. Here are six examples, each with unique experiences.

Anton Bruckner was born on September 4, 1824, in Ansfelden, Austria. Most of his piano compositions were written for teaching purposes. Besides composing, Bruckner was a well-known organist and taught organ performance.

Antonin Dvorak was born on September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic. Known for his Romantic era nationalism in his music, he later became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in the U.S.

Arnold Schoenberg was born on September 13, 1874, in Vienna. He is known for transforming how musical harmony is treated. Not only did he compose music, but also he taught and wrote, and was a music theorist. Although a teacher, he himself was largely self-taught in terms of learning about music and composition.

Gustav Holst was born on September 21, 1874, in Cheltenham, UK. Like Dvorak, Holst was inspired by—and promoted—English folk songs. He started composing at age 12, but his father wanted him to become a professional pianist; with his poor eyesight and asthma, Holst found piano playing difficult so he stayed with composing.

Dmitri Shostakovich was born on September 25, 1906 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His mother started giving him piano lessons when he was nine years old. Four years later he composed a funeral march in memory of political murders. He started his professional career as a concert pianist and composer, but was more successful in the latter arena.

George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898, in New York City. He began as a song plugger and recorded piano rolls, where he discovered jazz. However, he was also influenced by neo-classical composers, including the September composers Shostakovich, and Schoenberg.

Classical Piano Enriched by Black Musicians

The classical piano world has been helped by a variety of musicians. Because February is celebrated as Black History month, it is good to focus on Black contributions.

Scott Joplin is one of the most recognized piano composers of the 20^th century, and even won a Pulitzer Prize in 1976. As a teenager, he studied classical piano and recognized the art of music, not just for entertainment. In his ragtime compositions, he merged European romanticism with American folk music syncopation to achieve both contrapuntal and innovative harmonies in a classical miniature form.

Another notable pianist and composer was George Walker, who wrote almost 100 piece of music, including vocal works. He too blended spirituals and Western classical forms. In 1996 he became the first Black composer to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Tom “Blind Tom” Wiggins was the highest paid pianist at one point in the 19^th century – at the age of ten! He was known for performing pieces by Bach and Beethoven, and wrote more than 100 piano compositions.

Noted songstress Nina Simone studied classical piano. In her song writing and piano performance, she has incorporated complex contrapuntal features inspired by Bach.

Another musical prodigy, Hazel Scott, studied at Julliard when she was eight years old. She performed both jazz and classical music “live,” on the radio, and in film. She was the first African American to host a network TV show in America, which featured a variety of musical performances.

Music is both international and culturally developed. We have much to thank Black musicians for enrichening the classical piano experience. Including their work in piano repertoires benefits everyone.

November Piano Composers

Tomoko asserts that pianists should get acquainted with the composers of the piano pieces they are performing. Fall for these ten great piano composers who were born in November.

November 2, 1729: Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf was an Austrian violinist and composer for several instruments, including the piano. He was a friend of Mozart and Haydn.

November 6, 1860: Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a Polish music teacher and composer; he was also an internationally popular piano performer. He served as Poland’s prime minister in World War I, and signed the Treaty of Versailles.

November 7, 1810: Ferenc Erkel was a Hungarian pianist and composer. He is known as the father of Hungarian opera, and composed Hungary’s national anthem.

November 11, 1668: Francois Couperin was a French Baroque composer and organist. His most famous books was The Art of Harpsichord Playing, and he composed four volumes of harpsichord music.

November 14, 1900: Aaron Copland was an American composition teacher and conductor, and well as being called the Dean of American Composers. He is known for his populate style.

November 22, 1913: Benjamin Britten. One of Tomoko’s favorite composers, Britten was an English pianist, conductor and composer. Besides writing operas, he wrote solo pieces. He was also interested in writing music for children, the most notable piece being Noye’s Fludde.

November 24, 1868: Scott Joplin was an African American pianist and composer. He has been called the King of Ragtime, and considered this musical genre a form of classical music.

November 25, 1785: Franz Gruber was a German organist and composer. He is best known as the composer of Silent Night.

November 25, 1897: Virgil Thompson was an American    He studied piano at Harvard, and composed for that instrument – as well as composed operas and film music. He was awarded that National Medal of Arts by President Reagan.

November 28, 1829: Anton Rubinstein was a Russian performing pianist, conductor and composer.  He was also Tchaikovsky’s composition teacher. 

Animated Piano

Tomoko enjoys films, and appreciates the music that is incorporated into them. 

One specialized type of film is animated films, which started almost as early as “real life” films. As examples,, Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914 and the first feature-length animated film el Apostol in 1917 greatly attracted audiences. These silent films were often accompanied by piano and organ music, and classical pieces were sometimes used because of their familiarity. Even modern animated films, especially cartoons, continue to incorporate classical pieces. Here is a sampling.

One of most well known cartoons that used classical music was Bugs Bunny’s What’s Opera Doc?, which featured Wagner’s Tannhӓuser chorus. Wagner is less well known for his piano compositions. For instance, his Wesendonck Lieder for piano and voice were studies for Tristan and Isolde.

Several other classical piano pieces have become tropes for cartoons because of their vivid connotations:

·         Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C# Minor

·         Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody

·         Mendelssohn’s “Spring Song” from Leider ohne Worter

·         Rimsky’ Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumble Bee

Probably the first full-length animated movie that comes to mind when linked to classical music is Disney’s 1940 Fantasia. Piano composers who were featured in that movie included:

·         Johann Sebastian Bach with his organ music Toccata and Fugue in D minor

·         Tchaikovsky with his Nutcracker Suite; Percy Grainger arranged the Flower Waltz for piano, and Mikhail Pletnev adapted seven segments of the Nutcracker into a concert suite for piano

·         Paul Dukas with his Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which he also transcribed for two pianos

·         Stravinski with his Rite of Spring, which was also composed as a two-hand and four-hand arrangement

·         Mussorgsky with his Night on Bald Mountain, for which he had written a version for piano and orchestra

·         Franz Schubert with his Ave Maria, for which Franz Liszt arranged in three versions for piano.

 Animated films have helped to popularize classical piano, including exposing children at an early age, to animate their interest. Tomoko would approve.

Compose a Museum

 In her travels, Tomoko has visited several museums: Tokyo museums, the Palais Museum in Paris, a Medici house museum in Florence, and Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg, to name a few. She has even performed in museums such as the De Young Museum in San Francisco. Of special note for her are museums about composers. In fact, when she travels she takes opportunities to play on historic pianos for herself, such as performing Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude on his piano within the Chopin Museum in Majorca, Spain. 

Here are some fascinating museums of piano composers whom Tomoko likes.

The Composers Quarter in Hamburg consists of six museums, each of which features one or more classical composers who lived in the areas. Each museum is housed in a restored historical building, and each museum contains a multimedia collection of the composer's works and life. See the list and details of each museum at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composers_Quarter_Hamburg

The Museum of the Johann Strauss Dynasty in Vienna has collected artifacts of Strauss gnerations, from the “Biedermeier” era to the 1880s. The museum includes fourteen themed areas, which are accompanied by related audio music. See more at http://www.strauss-museum.at

Speaking of musical families, the Bach Museum in Leipzig honors this family of musicians. Bach's organ and a violin from his orchestra are seen here – as well as many other family artifacts. The museum is interactive and offers summer concerts. See details at https://www.bachmuseumleipzig.de/en/bach-museum

Also located ins Leipzig is Schumann-Haus: the restored home of Clara and Robert in their first years of marriage. Visitors can experience how the couple lived and entertained, and the museum's sound garden provides interactive fun. See more at https://schumannhaus.rahn.network/en/museum/

A third composer's museum in Leipzig is Felix Mendelssohn's home. Visitors can see illustrated letters and music sheets as well as Mendelssohn's own watercolor efforts. The museum also includes a salon where morning concerts are held. See details at https://www.mendelssohn-stiftung.de/de/

The Beethoven House in Bonn features his life and work, and is located in Beethoven's birthplace. It includes a research center and a chamber music hall, and its garden showcases several busts of Beethoven. The museum was opened for the first time in 1893 during the second chamber music festival in the area. Now it includes digital collections for visitors to examine. See details at https://www.beethoven.de/

Handel's childhood home in London now holds exhibits about him. It even contains a miniature baroque theater stage that shows a virtual Handel performing “live.” See information about the museum, which also houses Hendrix, at https://handelhendrix.org/

Preserving the works and artifacts of classical piano composers keeps them alive and enables generations to experience them almost first hand. 

Black Notes in Classical Music

 Tomoko appreciates the multicultural aspects of classical music. Among those composers who are notable but sometimes not as well known are Black composers. Here are five notable ones.

Known as the Black Mozart, Creole Joseph Bologne was born on Christmas Day, 1745, in Guadeloupe, and was schooled in France. Bologne was first an expert fencer, but always had a love of music. He performed as an orchestra violinist, and became its concert master. Joseph wrote several sonatas, including for the forte-piano. He chiefly wrote operas and symphonies. Bologne, who lived next to Mozart for a while, is considered the first-known classical composer of African heritage.

George Bridgetower is most known for his violin virtuosity, and as such, the original dedicatee of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. He was born on October 11, 1778 in Poland of a West Indian father and Polish mother. He moved early to London, and performed publicly as a teen in England and Paris. Most of his own compositions were piano pieces, but many were lost over the years.

Another African British composer was Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, called the African Mahler. Born on August 15, 1875, Samuel studied at the Royal College of Music in London, and was a professor at the Crystal Palace School of Music. Many of his works were choral pieces, the best known one was The Song of Hiawatha. Samuel drew upon traditional African music in his compositions. He also wrote poetry, which he would sometimes set to music.

Florence Price is known as the first African American woman recognized as a symphonic composer. She also wrote for the piano – among her over 300 compositions. She was born in Arkansas on April 9, 1887. She performed publicly on the piano at age four, and had her first composition published at age eleven. Florence’s mother was a music teacher, and Florence attended the New England Conservatory of Music where she earned an artist diploma in organ and a teaching certificate. Florence played an importance role in the Chicago Black Renaissance, making her name first with her piano work Negro Fantasy. She wrote prize-winning piano sonatas and symphonies, and arranged spirituals, which Marian Anderson regularly performed.

George Walker was first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music – for his piece Lilacs. Born on June 27, 1922, he began playing the piano at age five. He earned his doctorate at the Eastman School of Music and taught at Rutgers University. He published more than ninety works, including five sonatas for piano, duet sonatas for piano and another instrument, as well as choral works and songs.

These accomplished composers of African descent certainly should be noted and listened to.

Lineages of Piano Composer/Teachers and Tomoko

 As a piano student, Tomoko took courses in composition, and she has great sensitivity to a composer’s nuanced musical approach and style. Tomoko also knows that several of her favorite piano composers were also piano teachers. Here is a sampling, which also show the lineage and impact of piano teachers.

The late 18^th century pianist Muzio Clementi was known for his piano sonatas and sonatinas. He also taught piano for over twenty year, and passed on his technical legato style to his students. One of those students was the German Ludwig Berger, who even went to Clementi to Russia, and stayed eight years.

When Berger returned to Germany, he transitioned from performing to composing (a concerto, sonatas, and studies) and teaching. His most famous student was Chopin.

Even though Chopin was one of the greatest piano composers even, he did not like to perform in public; he got stage fright and didn’t like being watched. He actually preferred teaching piano, and his etudes were used in such sessions. He wrote many études, which he used in lessons with his students. He mainly taught women who were serious about piano playing, although none performed professionally. One of his favorite students was Adolphe Gutman, who performed with Chopin, and later composed a set of études that were dedicated to Chopin.

Another lineage of piano composers/teachers starts with Christian Gottlob Neefe: a German 18^th century composer and conductor. He started composes at age 12, creaying mainly operas, although he also composed piano pieces. He was also Ludwig van Beethoven’s main piano teacher, and helped Beethoven compose his first works, which were piano pieces.

Besides his composing and public performing, Beethoven taught piano to increase the family’s income. One of his students was Austrian Carl Czerny, who impressed Beethoven with his performance at age 10. On his part, Czerny was impressed with Beethoven technical skill and ability to improvise.

Clementi also taught Czerny, who performed professionally and wrote more than a thousand compositions. Many of his piano pieces were études and piano solo exercises, which he used in teaching the piano. Indeed, Czerny began teaching piano at age fifteen.  His most famous student was Franz Liszt, who dedicated one of his own études to Czerny. Liszt also complemented his performing and composing with teaching, although he mainly taught masterclasses for groups of advanced piano students; he emphasized interpretation in those classes.  

Tomoko’s own students have gone on to perform professionally, compose, and teach piano. So she also has a legacy to be proud of.

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Max Egger

 

As a music major at the Tokyo University of the Arts, Tomoko had the opportunity to study with several famous musicians, including Max Egger. He performed, composed, and taught piano. His most famous recording was his memorial album, released in 2018, ten years after he died.

Tomoko was not the only Japanese pianist to study with him.

Pianist Kiyoko Takeuti was born in Tokyo, and Max Egger was one of her early teachers; she later joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as its pianist.

Japanese pianist Yuko Ninomiya studied with Max Egger at the High School Division of Toho School of Music. A few years she received a Fulbright scholarship to study at Juilliard, where she won several competitions. After touring in Europe and the US, she returned to Japan to perform and teach, including at the Toho School of Music where her studies began.

Still another Japanese pianist,, Kiroko Miyake Dutton, studied with Max Egger at Kobe College. She performed in the major Northeastern US cities, German, and Japan. At this point, she has more then 45 years of experience in piano instruction.

Swiss pianist Margrit Weber studied piano under Max Egger at the Zurich Conservatory. As a professional piano performer, she toured Europe, Canada, and the US. IN 1960 she performed Stravinsky’s Movements for piano and orchestra under the composer’s direction.

Another student of Max Egger’s at the Zurich Conservatory was Swiss musician Jean-Jacques Hauser. After successfully competing in several piano competitions, he taught at the Bellinzona City Piano School.

Another pianist who studied with Max Egger in Zurich was the American Warren Thew, who also taught a solo class at the Zurich Music Academy at the same time. He enjoyed giving concerts on old music played on original instruments of the time. Besides recording a number of works, Thew was a composer, arts, and poet.

German musician Peter Feuchtwanger studied piano with Max Egger, and later transitioned from performance to composing and teaching.

Like Max Egger, Tomoko has a long career of performing and teaching, and has several classical album recordings.

Composing in the Autumn Years

 Tomoko asserts: “Piano playing is good when you are 60 years old; you can even start after 70.  As long as you can move your hands, you can continue to play the piano. Tomoko remarks, “Playing also stimulates the brain, and keeps it younger.” Playing at an older age has other benefits too. “When you get older, you may find yourself repeating pieces,” says Tomoko. “They can be so beautiful, and give you warm memories as well as console you.” 

Likewise, Tomoko knows musical performers and teachers who are in their nineties. Tomoko recalls Pablo Casals performing publicly at the age of 96. At that time, in 1972, one of Tomoko’s college friends was inspired by Casals, and flew to Arizona State University where he was playing a benefit concert to raise money for an International Cello Library. Tomoko went along with her friend, and met Casals at the airport. They spent a meal with him and his young wife, who was the same age at Tomoko at the time. 

In that vein, some composers started late in life.

Austrian composer Anton Bruckner starting playing the organ as a child, and gave organ lessons as an adult. He didn’t start composing seriously until almost in his 40s, and was not widely recognized until his 60s. Most of his piano works were written for teaching purposes. 

French composer Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier played the piano mainly as a hobby because his family did not approve of a musical career for him. Instead, he would as a civil servant. As did Bruckner, Chabrier started full-time composing as he reached 40. He is sometimes associated with Debussy with his tender emotional piano pieces. Some of those worked served as the core inspiration for his later orchestral versions. He also created duet piano works.

Considered a major modernist composer, American Elliott Carter Jr. most the most productive after the age of 80. 

In that vein, while some piano composers died earlier in live, such as Mozart, others led long and productive lives. As with Chabrier, Carter’s family did not encourage music, although they let him take piano lessons. Amazingly, the man who sold insurance to Carter’s family was Charles Ives, later to become a renown composer. Ives encouraged Carter’s love of music, which led to Carter earning a doctorate in music. In his 40s, Carter edited Ives’ music and only then started composing, which he then did daily until his death in 2012. Most of his piano works were concertos.  

Several other composers lived to their mid eighties and nineties: Randall Thompson, Richard Strauss, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Charles-Camille Saint-Saens, Cecile Chaminade, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, and Jean Sibelius.

As the autumn days grow shorter, it is comforting to know creating, playing and listening to piano music certainly is a lifelong joy, and can even keep one younger in spirit. Just ask Tomoko.

Riding and Performing with George Duke

George Duke and Tomoko were students at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music at the same time. “We performed Prokoviev and Brahms together,” Tomoko remembers. “He was the sweetest man. He lived in Marin City, and he would generously give fellow students, including me, rides home.” From the Conservatory, George earned his bachelor’s degree in trombone and composition, with a minor in contrabass.

If you have heard of The Mothers of Invention, then you know of George Duke – and that he became a famous jazz musician. George joined the rebirth of this rock band in 1970 as their keyboardist and vocalist.

Thinking back to this musician, Tomoko remarks, “Maybe because his jazz influence or upbringing, he was very down to earth, not like many classical musician divas.” She concludes, “There is a big difference between the classical world and non-classical musicians. The latter are more easy going. I also found that out when I was recording at Skywalker.” Her comments reflect George’s own feelings in that he switched from classical music to jazz because it was more freeing for him, and it allowed him to improvise.

After his stint with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, George became a record producer for several hit musicians, including Anita Baker, Gladys Knight, Melissa Manchester, Barry Manilow, and Smokey Robinson. Nevertheless, he still performed live with other musicians, and made thirty solo albums.

George Duke was also a composer, including scoring work for television and film. His major orchestral piece was Muir Woods Suite, which premiered at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1993.  

For his work, Duke was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, and won two. He was twice named R&B keyboardist of the year by Keyboard magazine, and received the Edison Life Time Achievement Award. He was also inducted into the SoulMusic Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, George Duke died in 2013 at age 67 from leukemia, but he is well remembered by Tomoko.

The Secret Facts of Composers

Piano teachers need to know their music, and it’s useful to know about the composers themselves. Tomoko likes to read biographies – especially those of composers. And she relates stories about them to her students, providing context for the compositions as well as making those composers more human. Here are some of the lesser known facts about some of them.

Vivaldi became a priest when he was 25, and served as a master of violin at an orphanage. Vivaldi suffered from bronchial asthma throughout his life, which kept him from playing wind instruments.

Liszt was very popular when young, and he was quite the playboy. One of his illegitimate daughters become Richard Wagner’s wife. Nevertheless, throughout his life he considered becoming a priest, and took four minor religious orders when 54.

Schubert was famous for his musical parties, which sometimes lasted until dawn. Yet he was very prolific; he wrote more than 20,000 bars of music, including 600 songs. He wrote 8 songs in one day. 

Rachmaninoff's fingers could span 12 keys.  On the other hand 😉, Schumann ruined his performing career by practicing with a homemade finger-stretching device; then he would plunge his hands into slaughtered animals’ entrails to heal himself.

Frederic Handel loved rich food and wine. He would order enough food for three people – for himself. The food caused him gout, and the wine may have caused him lead poisoning. 

Johann Sebastian Bach frequented Leipzig’s Café Zimmermann where he would drink several cups of coffee (which was a luxury beverage at the time). He liked coffee so much he wrote the Coffee Cantata about a woman who was trying to stop her coffee drinking habit.  Bach was also an amateur mathematician, which is evident in his compositions, especially his canons.

Speaking of coffee, Beethoven was so meticulous that he would measure exactly 60 beans when making coffee.

Mozart’s life included many interesting facts. He could write music before he could write words. He could listen to a piece of music just once and be able to write it down from memory perfectly. He wrote half of his symphonies between the age of 8 and 19. was a big cat fan. He would imitate cats when bored during rehearsals. In fact, he liked cats so much that he wrote a song called "The Cat Duet,” in which the husband asks his wife questions and she answers back in meows.

Lizst and his legacy

One of Tomoko’s favorite piano composers is Lizst.  His works enable the performer to showcase technical virtuosity and strong emotional interpretation.

Lizst’s life is certainly reflective in his writing. 

At age seven Lizst started piano lessons from his father, started composing at age eight, and started public performances at age nine. Lizst was a wildly popular performer because of his technical brilliance and intense delivery, which his compositions could showcase. His enthralled audiences led to Lizstomania – and enough income that he could gave away much of his profits to charity. 

Thus, because Lizst was first a performer, his compositions reflect natural hand motions, and are more natural to play. That characteristic enabled Lizst to create works that could maximize kinesthetic ability. Additionally, Lizst was inspired by the violinist Paganin’s technique, and wanted to be as excellent as him, so much so that he wrote a series of etudes based on Paganini’s own violin’s technically challenging compositions. As a result, his compositions are often used by piano teachers to improve students’ technical skills. In fact, Tomoko remarks: “Sometimes a child – or the parent – wants to choose a masterful piece of music, such as a Liszt étude. They want the status of playing such a composition, but it might not be appropriatea at their stage of development. “Their motivation may be to show off,” says Tomoko, “but they will be miserable.” Instead, Tomoko asks the student to try it for themselves. “Then they recognize for themselves what is really involved.” If they really want to put in the effort, Tomoko tells them, “I will prepare this piece for you.” Tomoko explains each part, and then they agree on doing the hard work together. 

Tomoko also likes Lizst for his philosophy and emotional power. Tomoko relates to his spiritual side. “Listen to Liszt’s compositions. His philosophy is so beautiful. He was a very religious man.” While Lizst is not known for religious compositions, he contemplated joining the Catholic clergy in his twenties (after a romantic break-up) and  in late life did join a monastery. 

Lizst’s compositions also capture human emotional life: adapting folk dances and translating human expression, including violence, into  his music. Tomoko asserts: “Lizst is great for pianists in their twenties because they don’t have to think so much as express lots of action.”

Tomoko herself has masterfully performed Lizst’s works over the years. In her 1964 television interview with UCLA Opera Theater director Herbert Jan Popper, Tomoko She Hungarian Rhapsody A minor #11 by Liszt on the show. Almost fifty years later, in 2012, on the show “The Piano Matters with David Dubal,” Tomoko played Liszt’s "Au Lac de Wallenstadt." 

Just as Lizst was inspired by his experiences, Tomoko and her students find inspiration in Lizst for their own lives.