photo by Steven Kennedy

I had my first piano lesson at age 8 from Natalie Sherwood who still teaches today aged 84, walking 2 km from the Metro, morning night , winter summer. She aslso advised me an the purchase of my first piano a 1890's Schroeder which I still have today. Of all my teachers she is still the one I respect most and only a few months ago I was severely reprimanded for my use of pedal. I then moved to Musa Dnisov at the Gnessin Junior school, the conventional route to the Conservatoire. Aged 15 I entered the classes of the lower degree with Boris Shatskis and then Eugene Malinin.I took chamber classes with another incredible lady of the keyboard Tatiana Gaidamovich. After gaining my degree I was barred from the high degree, because of my affair with my professor, though my mother recently told me a "pay off" would have secured my place, but father refused to pay. So instead of higher degree - I went back to Gnessin as assistant class master and studied for a Diploma in Musical Therapy under Professor Riker.

Like all Conservatoire student of that time, we made tours in the summer, but my attitude and style barred me from competition closing off the conventional route to a performing career.. After qualification I played chamber music with some solo recitals - as Shostakovich Trio we had some success, playing in Europe and North and South America achieving some recordings. When the trio broke up I concentrated to teaching but still played occasional solo concerts.

I found the music of Paul Pabst and started to research and write about music, teaching and musical history, I discovered not only one of the greatest pianist, but a mystery. I discovered that there was a deliberate change in piano performance teaching about the time of the death of Tchaikovsky and that a new, non romantic method was imposed in the Conservatoire from 1897, it still survives today.

This leaves us with a paradox - how can you play music, written for romantic performance with free rubato, separated hands and multi voices, using the non romantic regimented method which requires perfect precision and limited rubato, perfect synchronization and ever increasing speed ?

To address this paradox I created the "TRIANGLE OF PERFORMANCE" which has become the foundation of all classes from ab-initio to masterclasses - It also provides the tools for my work in Musical Therapy.

I  had my first MS flare when I was 20 – I fell over in the Moscow Metro, semi paralysed below the waist and spent 3 months in hospital. I was fortunate to be admitted to the National Neurological Institute in the care of Professor Zavalishin. He treated me with a pre interferon drug, massive doses of vitamin B and  lots of physio therapy. Fortunately he didn’t mention the words MS, though I now know both he and my mother knew I had the disease.

Since the first flare I have had  three more, each connected with stressful events in my life. After the third flare I was offered  lumbar punctures and cortisone – I simply shut out the truth and left the surgery. The 4th flare caused me to cancel a concert and I self dosed on vitamin b and went to my physio. It was he that recommended me to his neurologist  friend, Professor Pierre Noel – he immediately ordered an MRI and very quickly I knew I had MS.

After a struggle with the Medical authorities I finally obtained interferon treatment and my new life started. I have now dedicated all my music to the fight against MS.

When I was diagnosed with MS I thought my performing career would end but I started play for MS causes in Europe and North America and this has been very rewarding.

My music became ........