An enthusiastic educator, Martin Labazevitch has been sharing his passion for teaching with students at the Levine School of Music in Washington D.C. He is also the Founder of the Berkshire Piano Academy, in Massachusetts as well as the Artistic Director of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition and Chopin Piano Academy in Washington D.C., the oldest Chopin contest in the United States of which Van Cliburn, Murray Perahia, Kirill Gerstein and many other luminaries of the piano world became the laureates. In 2022 Mr. Labazevitch co-founded The Paderewski Academy, a pioneer hybrid piano academy based in Zurich, Switzerland.
My Pedagogical Journey
By Martin Labazevitch
“It is only by demanding the impossible …., you can obtain what is possible…”
Heinrich Neuhaus
I must have been around 15 years old when I first came across this quote from a book by Heinrich Neuhaus titled Art of the Piano Playing. At that time, I was absolutely obsessed with the recordings of Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter. I was determined to learn everything I could about these two extraordinary pianists and what made them so unique. It was also then that I discovered they had both studied with the same professor at the Moscow Conservatory. I couldn’t believe that two such vastly different artists had been mentored by the same man—Heinrich Gustavovich Neuhaus. This revelation sparked my curiosity, and I set out to learn everything I could about Neuhaus.
At that time I studied at the Odessa State Conservatory in Ukraine with Anatoly Kardashev. His humble, selfless and utterly dedicated approach to teaching sparked my first interest in pedagogy. Not to mention that in Odessa I was surrounded by walls that remembered Gilels and Richter. I began collecting and reading every book, letter, and article I could find about the Neuhaus legacy at a small music bookstore in Odessa. This is how my fascination with teaching and my pedagogical journey began. Through Neuhaus’ magical and inspiring language, I discovered the infinite wisdom of finding a way to a composer’s truth and sharing it with students.
(Above) My teacher Anatoly Kardashev. (Below) Emil Gilels at the Odessa Conservatory. My teacher is standing in the back.
My fascination with Neuhaus’ world led me to other musicians from his orbit, many of whom I had the privilege of working with.
My first teacher in New York City, at the Manhattan School of Music, and my first great inspiration, Nina Svetlanova, was a Neuhaus pupil. She also worked with Grigory Kogan, another remarkable musical figure whose book Pianist’s Work became a foundational influence on both my pedagogical approach and my development as a pianist. I think of Nina daily—her work on technique, sound production, and her love for art songs, opera, and poetry. She instilled these qualities in me, which I now try to pass on to my students.
Nina introduced me to Dmitri Bashkirov, with whom I spent three summers at the Salzburg Summer Academy. Bashkirov had studied with Alexander Goldenweiser, another great Soviet pianist and pedagogue, a contemporary of Neuhaus. I often reflect on what I learned from Bashkirov during those summers in Austria. His passionate way of speaking about music was absolutely contagious. However, if you were immune to his enthusiasm, you might have found yourself in trouble—and I witnessed that firsthand. I loved every lesson with Professor Bashkirov.
Top: Nina Svetlanova. Bottom: with Nina Svetlanova.
With Dmitri Bashkirov
Nina also introduced me to Dmitry Papperno and Lazar Berman, for whom I had the chance to perform at the Suolahti Summer Music Academy in Finland and at the Liszt Academy in Weimar, Germany, respectively. Both of them were Goldenweiser pupils, and I greatly admired their artistry. Even though our personalities didn’t always align, I still cherish these memories.
Another great inspiration from that period was meeting the legendary Bella Davidovich in New York. Bella shared first prize with Halina Czerny-Stefanska at the 1949 Chopin Competition in Warsaw. She studied with Konstantin Igumnov and Yakov Flier at the Moscow Conservatory. I had been a fan of her Chopin recordings ever since childhood, when I first discovered them in my grandparents’ LP collection. Over the years, I spent many hours with Bella, playing Chopin for her and listening to her inspiring stories about the great masters of the Moscow Conservatory. She is a remarkable communicator, and her storytelling is as compelling as her artistry at the piano. That’s how I will always remember the great Bella Davidovich.
With Bella Davidovich
My final major inspiration during my years at the Manhattan School of Music was my last teacher there, Horacio Gutierrez. Horacio’s teacher, Sergei Tarnovsky, was also the teacher of the great Vladimir Horowitz. He later studied with Adele Marcus at the Juilliard School, who had been a pupil of the legendary Russian virtuoso Josef Lhevinne. Horacio’s last teacher was William Masselos, a pupil of Carl Friedberg, who had studied with Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Mr. Gutierrez, as I used to call him, a hyper-virtuoso who rarely focused on teaching any technique. Instead, he emphasized on musical and stylistic ideas, as well as interpretation. His relentless, detail-focused classes often went into the early morning hours, or until one of us—usually me—was too exhausted to continue. Horacio also introduced me to classic cinema and the works of the great Stephen Sondheim.
Left: with Horacio Gutierrez.
Right: Horacio Gutierrez pictured with his wife, Patricia Asher.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have met many other extraordinary artists along my journey as a musician. Among them was Isidore Cohen, a member of the Juilliard String Quartet and the Beaux Arts Trio, who was my chamber music coach during my years with the Paderewski Trio at the Manhattan School of Music.
Beaux Arts Trio
Ruth Laredo, an American pianist extraordinaire and student of Rudolf Serkin, was the first pianist to record the complete sonatas of Scriabin. She was both my chamber music coach and my mentor. I also had the privilege of cat-sitting for her during her frequent travels in exchange for the use of her two pianos and the opportunity to stay in her beautiful Upper West Side apartment while she was away. Her relentless discipline and “iron” work ethic are qualities I greatly admire and think about daily. Unfortunately, she succumbed to cancer far too soon.
Left: Ruth Laredo. Right: with Ruth Laredo
Another prodigious pianist I often turn to for advice is Jeffrey Swann. Jeffrey studied in Texas with Alexander Uninsky, the winner of the 2nd Chopin International Competition in 1932 in Warsaw, and later with Adele Marcus at Juilliard. He is one of the most brilliant people I know, someone who is well-versed in anything he sets his mind on, and can communicate it in multiple languages—including Mandarin. His vast repertoire and unique approach of sharing it with an audience have profoundly impacted my understanding of music. There are still legends being told about his miraculous playing during his Juilliard years, playing that I had a privilege to experience on numerous occasions.
With Jeffrey Swann
With Jorge Luis Prats
One more person comes to mind when I think of my inspirations and mentors: the Cuban virtuoso Jorge Luis Prats. I met him one summer in Puerto Rico at a festival, and we became friends almost instantly. Jorge studied with Paul Badura-Skoda in Vienna, but his approach to the piano evokes the greatest masters of the Golden Age. Although I never studied with him formally, when I think about musical aesthetics, values, and goals, Jorge’s are probably the closest to my own. We spent countless hours talking, playing music together, and smoking cigars, whether in San Juan, Miami, Washington D.C., or Valencia, Spain.
I’ve listed my mentors and inspirations here, people I think about almost daily when working with my students. Each one brought something unique to my teaching and playing style and has contributed to how I approach music today. The approach I’m proud to share with my students on a daily basis.
“if you will it, it’s not a dream”
Martin Labazevitch Piano Studio
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Faculty
Levine School of Music
Founder / Artistic Director
Berkshire Piano Academy
Artistic Director
The Chopin Piano Academy
Artistic Director
The Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition
Co-Founder
Paderewski Academy
