PIANO TEACHER
Let nature be your teacher
– William Wordsworth
This photo was taken during the annual Flower Piano festival in Golden Gate Park, during which 12 pianos are placed over 12 acres. It was a wonderful experience to make music amidst the beauties of nature.
Of course playing the piano well is not just a walk in the park: it takes patience, steady effort, and a love for music. But it can inspire you as much as the wonders of nature do.
I have had excellent piano teachers with impressive pedigrees. When I was in high school I studied with Bruce Simonds, whose teacher studied with Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. My last piano teacher, Leon Fleisher, has an unbroken student/teacher link that reaches back to Beethoven.
Over the years I have given piano lessons to early intermediate, intermediate, and advanced students of all ages. Among the many things I teach are:
Independence of hands | Variety of touch and dynamics | Balancing melody and accompaniment | Mastering scales and arpeggios | How to enjoy and get results from practicing | Music analysis and theory.
I tailor my lessons to your goals.
Are you a child who reads music and loves to play piano? Did you study piano as a child and want to start playing again? Have you learned all you can from your current teacher? Do you want to advance to the next level? I am the right teacher for you.
M.M. in Piano Performance
Peabody Conservatory
Leon Fleisher, principal teacher
Here is some of the repertoire I have performed,
both solo piano and chamber music:
Bach Italian Concerto
Prelude and Fugue in D major
Brandenburg Concerto no. 5
Mozart Fantasy in D minor
Sonata in F major K. 280
Sonata in D-major for two pianos
Piano Concertos in F major and D minor
Piano Trios in C major and E major
Piano Quartets in E-flat major and G minor
Quintet for Piano and Winds
Beethoven Piano Sonatas opuses 7, 27 no. 1, 53, 90
Violin Sonatas in A major and C minor
Piano Trios op. 11, op. 70 nos. 1 and 2, op. 97
Schubert Piano Sonatas in D major and A major
Piano Trios in B-flat major and E-flat major
Schumann Fantasy in C major
Waldszenen
Mendelssohn Variations sérieuses
Chopin Ballades nos. 1 and 4
Impromptu in F-sharp major
Nocturne op. 27 no. 2
Brahms Six Pieces for Piano op. 118
Liebeslieder Walzes
Cello Sonata in E minor
Trio for Piano, Violin, and Horn
Piano Quartets in A major and C minor
Piano Quintet in F minor
Debussy Images Book 1
L'isle joyeuse
Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time
Davidovsky Synchronism for Piano and Electronic Tape
Crumb Vox Balaenae for Piano, Violin, and Cello

Phil's piano lessons led me through the intricacies of Mozart's Sonata in G major with patience and humor. He restored my self-confidence and my love for playing the piano.
– Michèle G.
Phil is the best piano teacher I have ever had!
– Martha F.