Piano: advanced performance workshop
Why do I need an advice session
Choose a starting date
Learning modes and locations may be different depending on the course start date. Please check the location of your chosen course and read our guide to learning modes and locations to help you choose the right course for you.
- Start Date: 31 Jul 2025End Date: 07 Aug 2025Thu (Evening): 18:30 - 21:30In PersonLocation: Keeley StreetDuration: 2 sessions (over -2 weeks)Course Code: ME263DTutors: Maria RazumovskayaFull fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £99.00
- Start Date: 04 Dec 2025End Date: 11 Dec 2025Thu (Evening): 18:30 - 21:30In PersonLocation: Keeley StreetDuration: 2 sessions (over -2 weeks)Course Code: ME263Tutors: Maria RazumovskayaFull fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £99.00
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
This practical workshop is designed to help you polish repertoire to a performance standard and examine interpretation. It aims to help you see the music within its larger historic/stylistic concept while at the same time helping you to focus on particular details to achieve your best performance. The class is limited to 8 performers who will play a 20 minute session each on both evenings. Please consider these time constraints when choosing your repertoire, as you may wish to present just short section of a piece to allow time to work on it with the tutor.
What will we cover?
You are expected to bring one or two pieces to the class which have been well prepared in advance. Please let the music office know your choices in advance so that we can inform the tutor and all students of the repertoire before the first session. You may find it helpful to bring study-scores to follow your classmate’s repertoire. Repertoire choices should be sent to: music@citylit.ac.uk.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Make informed expressive decisions about stylistic issues such as articulation, phrasing and pedalling and realise them in your playing.
- Understand how to interpret notational/editorial ambiguities in the context of the style and period.
- Respond to constructive critique.
- Be able to deliver an assured performance of your repertoire.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
You must play to a minimum standard of Grade 8 and be able to respond quickly to the suggestions of the tutor.
You need to be able to follow written and verbal instruction in English and engage in class discussions. Please note that entry onto this course is subject to approval by the Head of Piano.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Tuition will take place in a masterclass format, including tutor demonstration and group listening/discussion.
You need to prepare your piece well beforehand. Although encouraged, you are not expected to play from memory.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Please bring along two copies of the music you are playing; one for you and one for the tutor. Please inform the music office of the repertoire you intend to play well in advance - music@citylit.ac.uk. If you are unsure as to the suitability of your repertoire, please contact Lewis Kesterton, Head of Piano for advice.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
City Lit offers a wide range of piano classes from beginner to advanced levels. If you are new to City Lit piano classes, please take a moment to read our Piano Department page, which lists our full sequence of piano classes.
Maria Razumovskaya received her pianistic training with Rustem Hayroudinoff at the Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating with Distinction and several prizes. She furthered her studies with Professor Dmitri Alexeev as an AHRC doctoral scholar at the Royal College of Music. Maria combines intellectual integrity with an intensely emotional performance style. She has performed extensively in the UK and continental Europe, and her live radio broadcasts include ‘BBC Introducing‘ and the BBC ‘In Tune' series. Her debut CD, Liszt B Minor Piano Sonata and Other Works (Malachite), was shortlisted for the Liszt Disque Grand Prix. Further recordings include works of Busoni, Liszt, CPE Bach and Rachmaninov. She has published a monograph on pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus (Boydell & Brewer), book chapters, and articles for academic and general periodicals including BBC Music, International Piano, and Pianist. She teaches at City Lit and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, is guest faculty at several international music academies and festivals, and is a Steinway Artist.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.