Carol Leone presents “Narrow Keys: A Game Changer for Pianists”

Lecture Demonstration: https://www.hmdk-stuttgart.de/veranstaltung/narrow-keys-game-changer-pianists

BIO

American pianist and university professor Carol Leone is active as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. A successful recording artist, Leone can be heard on MSR Classics, Gasparo, Crystal, and Augusta Read Thomas labels. Her recording, “Change of Keys” on MSR Classics garnered two 2016 Silver Global Awards. Of this recording, Fanfare magazine stated, “Leone plays with drive and sparkle, and with plenty of wit.” Dallas Morning News wrote of her Mozart playing, “luminous tone… she took us into another, quite magical world.” Dr. Leone is Chair of Piano Studies and Professor of Piano at SMU Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas, Texas. Leone studied with legendary Polish pianist Mieczysław Horszowski at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received the Performance Certificate. She was a student of Guido Agosti in Rome after earning the coveted Honors Diploma at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. She ultimately earned her doctorate from the UNT College of Music. Leone was successful in several national piano competitions, including being awarded first prize in the National Beethoven Sonata Piano competition. 

At SMU, she has performed frequently as concerto soloist with the SMU Meadows Symphony Orchestra and as part of a faculty piano trio with violinist Aaron Boyd and cellist Andres Diaz. She has also performed regularly with the Grammy-nominated contemporary music ensemble Voices of Change. Over the course of her 40-year career as a university piano professor, Dr. Leone has taught a diverse group of talented students. Many have achieved notable success, becoming recording artists, esteemed university professors, and influential leaders within the profession. Leone has recently served as a guest teacher or lecturer at The Juilliard School, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, Trinity Laban Conservatory in London, Shanghai Normal University, and several Italian conservatories. She has served on the music faculty of summer festivals in Moscow, Vienna, South Korea, the Czech Republic, and Italy, and is regularly on the summer piano faculty of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. A leading advocate and presenter of pianos with narrower keyboards, Dr. Leone has energized a worldwide movement to transform pianists' artistry and wellness. She was a co-founder of the global movement Pianists for Alternative Sized Keyboards and of the annual International Stretto Piano Festival and currently serves on the board of directors for the DS Standard Foundation.