Season 3 of The Piano Pod is HERE!

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So, 1, 2, 3.

You're listening to The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song, where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century.

Welcome back to Season 3 of The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song.

I'm Clara Zhang.

We took a 3-month summer hiatus and we're back and we missed you and hope you had a wonderful summer being able to rest up a bit and take a trip or work on new projects, spend some time in nature, or of course practice the piano. So now we are back and excited to get on with it. So Clara, welcome back.

Thank you so much, Yukimi. Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you in person as well.

I know, I know. Guess what, guys? We're doing it in-person, uh, introductory episode. This is like our first time, right?

Very first time. And Kimmy is just magical. Oh my gosh, she is so cool.

You should have seen us before taping this, like, no, plug in this, don't hit this button.

But follow us on social media, you'll see all the funny stories.

Exactly. Yes. So how was your summer?

It was okay, you know, it was okay. I I chose not to travel this summer, you know, internationally, so I did a lot of little trips around New York area, and yeah, I am, you know, in a good space.

What about your summer? Great, yeah, I was here too, and mostly in the city, and I had— I think I gave like 6 lectures. That's right. And then also I've done some writing, like writing articles and things like that, so it's been a really busy, productive, but exhausting summer. So, but I am actually really excited to, you know, resume this season and just to be in touch with you guys, audience. So yeah, I'm very excited.

I'm so excited as well.

So for those who are joining us for the first time, welcome to The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song. We're the podcast show for piano lovers, and then we You know, the, the reason why we wanted to do this podcast show was, you know, honestly, for me, I, when I moved to New York, I've already established as a piano teacher before. I had close to, let's say, 7, 8 years of experience as a piano teacher, actually at college, small college in Florida. Then I decided to move up here in the middle of winter in January and then studying at NYU. I know, right? Oh my gosh, it was just a horrific experience in that way. But, and so I got accepted at NYU, and I was doing the grad course, and I needed to, you know, of course work, and then I wanted to teach. So I started teaching young children, which was the first time ever teaching young kids because I started out as a college student. So then I realized, wow, there is a huge disconnect between the way I feel about music and the way they feel about learning music. So I wanted to do something about it, and I've talked to several people, and then one of them was the professor at NYU, and he says, "You know, the best way is to do your podcast show." But that's when the smartphone, like iPhone, just started come out, and the podcast, the terminology podcast was still new, and I wasn't sure what exactly the concept of podcast was. Right. So, right. And so I just wasn't sure. I wasn't ready to start in my life. Then fast forward, of course, 2020. Yeah. You know, the pandemic happens. And then that's when I reached out to you and Eric Hunter, who was with us for season 1 and just a little bit of season 2.

Sure.

Right. And then you guys said yes. So here we are.

That was so great. Yeah.

And we've been interviewing so many wonderful guests, you know, pianists, you know, Frederic Joux. You know, your friend from Malaysia, Ray Mack.

We had Blockbug, we had Lieberman.

Yes, Mr. Lieberman, he's the composer. I mean, so many. And also, initially I wanted to do the podcast because I had a student who had major performance anxiety, so I wanted to interview a performance coach. A psychologist who, his name is Dr. John Skidmore, who was the very first episode of the show. So that's how we started.

Exactly.

So far and then so good.

Come a long way.

I know, right?

The first episode, I still remember the fear. It's like, I cannot move.

Oh my God. My name is— What do I do now? You are a natural.

Oh no, no, thank you.

So tell me, uh, tell us more. Like, I know you also wanted to start a podcast, so sure, tell me, tell us why.

Um, well, you know, I didn't have the same exact experience you had because I, I never really thought of like it could happen, you know, because it felt like it takes a lot of, uh, technical support and, you know, like knowledge in totally different from music, but I have, you know, I listen to a lot of podcasts. I was like always a podcast lover from the very beginning. I used to commute quite a bit, you know, so I, well, you know, I go to a lot of places, so I was on the train a lot, and then podcast is something you can download on your phone even without the Wi-Fi, right? And also just, you know, I'm basically pretty deep in this personal development world, and I always have this dream of empowering musicians. I feel like I read, I'm like a book nerd and I read a lot of history, music history, and I feel like in our current age that, like, I want to make a documentary basically of how classical musicians live in 21st century. And when you reach out to me, I'm like, this is amazing idea and you have all the knowledge and then you work so hard and it's just It was an easy, actually, transition for me to just, you know, and we have had such a great time and we start playing together too.

Usually we have a really good time, right? But of course challenges happen, some frustrations of setting up all the gears. But other than that, it's been really great. So I really appreciate you still being with me and doing this together. Thank you. Yeah. And I can't believe we are doing it in person.

That's right.

Oh my God, we can pet each other. It's so weird because we started out on Zoom. And Martin, oh my God.

Gosh, this is great. Yeah, we're so excited.

So I want to talk to us about past seasons. We sort of touched base right now. So we had incredible guests. So what do we expect in season 3?

Oh my goodness. We have quite a few amazing people lined up as our guests already, and we're so honored. You know, the first two that are already— we set them up. The very first one is, uh, Miss Edna Golinski of Golinski Institute, and she is the expert and the owner of, uh, Topman Approach. I believe that's what they call. But, uh, yeah, I feel like I have so much personal connection or story with her just because, you know, as musicians, we sometimes when we practice too much, we could injure ourselves, you know, by accident. And I had a little bit of that when I was in grad school in Massachusetts. And I remember my teacher mentioned to me about her, and I read her, you know, about this in the book. And fast forward, I was in New York, and I was, you know, I know she was in New York, but she was big person, you know. And then one day I just went into an event, and then there was only one seat left, and then she was sitting right next to it, and I had to talk to her. And I'm like, so scared, you know. And yeah, and I later on studied with her and she helped me. And recently, uh, her, I believe, assistant wrote to us, right? And then, yeah, she was like, they've been loving our show. And then we were like, oh my God, Edna! Yeah, I remember she even wrote my recommendation letter, I think, for my green card and back in the days, you know. So yeah, and then, you know, I also knew one of her, uh, I think childhood friend, so we'll see if she remembers. Oh wow, so that's amazing. Yeah, and who is the second person we're going to have on the show?

So second guest of this season is my mentor, my teacher, Mr. Eduardes Halim.

Oh my goodness, I can't wait.

I wanted to invite him for a long time since season 1, but I wasn't ready because before I invite him, I wanted to make sure that we have the subs substantial amounts of episodes before, so I wanted to wait. And then so I reached out to him and he gave me the immediate yes. So I'm so excited. So let me tell you about Eduardo, right? So he is not only my mentor and teacher from NYU, but also he's a Steinway artist, of course, and then music professor. And he's been the Sasha Gorodovsky Faculty Chair in Piano Studies. And then Sasha— Mr. Sasha Grodzynski was actually Mr. Edwardo Salim's teacher at Juilliard. And then, so, and he's The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song at NYU Steinhardt. And of course, and he's the last, last student of the legend Vladimir Horowitz. And then, I mean, I knew that, but then As I was reading the biography of Horowitz, there is one chapter, one chapter specifically written about Eduardo.

Oh my goodness.

I, when I saw it, I could not believe myself. And am I about to learn from this guy? Right. Wow. I, I was very overwhelmed. And then, so I took a lesson for like 3 years with him. Every time I go and he's dressed so nicely.

Oh my goodness.

Yes.

I only met him once in passing when I was auditioning there. I was like this little girl from Kansas and you know, he was so kind to me and yeah, it was beautiful conversation. But I was like, is he a model or is it every actor? He was like so nicely dressed.

I know he is. He's an incredible person. But so every time I go, I practiced so much, right? And then every time we finished the lesson, I felt so full because he gave me so much. At the same time, I felt so defeated because he is so good the way he plays. And he doesn't have to talk so much. He just shows me something and it's, whoa, that will take me about a year to complete. So that's enough, that sort of thing. I was always overwhelmed but inspired. And just to get to hear that golden era of piano, that era, he has that tradition. He's such a romantic pianist. So I showed you his recording of the Hammerklavier by Beethoven.

That was amazing. Like the first note, I was about to head into shower and I heard the first note. I'm like, I am sold. You know, this is like, I mean, I've heard his recordings in the past, I believe, but You know, it hasn't been for a while, and I don't know what it is, but just filled up the space.

And yeah, just, uh, uh, um, the tone between the notes, one note to another, that is just amazing. I don't know how he does, and he's such a, uh, you know, uh, thin, uh, you know, very— he's very tall. Yeah, you know, so I don't know where that power comes from, but to me, his pianissimo and legato, oh, for sure. Yeah, so, so, but we're going to interview him soon, and then we get to hear his story with Mr. Horowitz, of course.

You know, I moved to Upper East Side because of Mr. Horowitz.

Oh yeah?

When I was little, I had the CD, and in the back of the CD it says he lives on this place, Upper East Side, New York. And yeah, you know, so now we will know all the juicy stories.

Oh, definitely. I hope— I don't want to embarrass Mr. Eduardo, but He sometimes impersonates Mr. Horowitz when, you know, he tells me about, you know, how Mr. Horowitz said to, instructed him of certain things and he impersonates. So that's, it's, I hope he does that during the show. Who knows, but we'll see what happens.

Exactly.

Yeah. So the, we're going to talk about the season, season 3 episode 3.

That's right, and we have another amazing guest coming up, and she— we already confirmed— she's an award-winning classical crossover pianist known for her virtuosic arrangement, amazing piano dexterity, and the electric blends of modern classical crossover piano style with pop elements.

Yeah, so she's like Ray Mak that we interviewed from Malaysia, and actually she is originally from Malaysia.

Another Asian!

Oh my gosh, she's American, probably.

Yeah, yeah, got it.

And then, you know, just like her or Black Box we interviewed last season, or Jonathan Ong, that's right, a Twitch streamer that we interviewed season 1, and then Doultric, that's right, we interviewed last season. So, so we're gonna interview a young crossover contemporary pianist, but she actually has a very extensive classical training by Juilliard school teacher.

Wow.

So yeah, she has such an amazing, amazing technique. She's incredible because she, just like Dultrix, she uses that Ableton, the pad thingy. I don't know how they do it, then record the score, the track, and then they mix the track while she's performing.

That's right, that's right.

Amazing. It's beautiful. So yeah, and she's also a composer, so We really— I'm very excited to talk to her about it.

That is so good. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. You know, we're already— we haven't even gotten started, but you know, we already have so much excitement.

Yeah. So, you know, I also— we are really getting a lot of like feedback from our audience and also cheers. And so thank you so much. And we're gonna really do our best, more than our best, to bring the best content about piano. So anything you can think of, any guests you can maybe share, and feel free to email us at thepianopodnyc@gmail.com, or, you know, reach out to us by all the social media, you know, outlets. So like Instagram, we are on, and Twitter, and what else?

LinkedIn, and we have—

yeah, we have Facebook, Facebook.

Right, right.

So yeah, you can reach out to us, right? So here's the really brand new thing that I want to discuss. Okay, so we really love what we do. I love what I do. I can spend hours and hours, which literally I do with the video or audio editing. It takes a long time, but it works so hard.

It's amazing.

But did you see the latest Instagram, uh, video that I posted? Do you see all the introductory part that is like a really a little fancy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm trying to make it more visually, like, stimulating for all of us. So, you know, that takes a lot of effort, and which I love to do, and then also time. Now, so we really love what we do, and it's been such a wonderful journey and meaningful journey for us. And now more than ever, actually, we really need your support, more than verbal support. So we can continue our work by bringing the hottest news from the piano world, right? So there are actually two really tangible ways that you can support us. So tell us the first option.

Well, the first option— finally, finally, we are on LinkedIn, uh, Linktree. If you go to linktree.com/pianopodmic, the first thing you will see is help us sustain our mission. Then you see a few options to support our show. Option number 1 is you can donate $10 and receive a personalized message video from one of us. And number 2 is for $30 and you will receive a video clip of me playing the Sinfonia from Partita No. 2 by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is a piece, you know, I feel so deeply, you know, with. And with a personal message.

Oh, wonderful. Yeah. And then Option number 3 is now me. That's for $30. If you donate $30, then me, I'm going to share my— me performing 3 mazurkas by Chopin. I haven't figured out which one, but I have several of them. So 3 mazurkas by Chopin with a personal message.

Oh my goodness. And then we also have number 4 option is for $90, a video clip of me and Yukimi we have been doing all these duet pieces in the concerts. And so it's a duet of Mozart or Debussy for handpieces. And yeah, and number 5 is for $200, and you are invited to one of the TPP monthly salon recitals.

Well, actually, they are all invited to all 10 concerts per year, right? So for $200, it's just not going to be one concert, but all 10 salon concerts that we're going to host. And then if you chose Option number 5, you're invited to all of them.

You're going to be our VIP guests from this point on.

That's right, exactly. And also, we have another way— you have another way to support us, which is Patreon, right? So I— we just, uh, started to setting up for the, the account on Patreon. Yeah, so, um, I will finish setting up by September 7th or so, so just be patient. But if you are already interested, just go to patreon.com/thepianopod and become part of the TPP member on Patreon. We would really love to have you on there, and then we also really need your support. So make sure visit patreon.com/thepianopod, and we can't wait to see you on there.

That's right.

Yeah, so we have so much to look forward to. It's already a great start of the season.

Absolutely.

And I really thank you so much for all the way coming from Upper East Side today to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

I love it.

But this is really a great, great thing. We need to do this more often.

And you are able to make this all work. Oh my God, it's such a magical thing, you know.

But yeah, it worked out, so I'm very happy. So yeah, so this concludes the introductory of Season 3 episode. So, yeah, and thank you for all of the audience to tuning in today, and we want to remind you that our first episode with Edna Golanski will premiere on YouTube and Facebook on Tuesday, September 6th at 8:00 PM Eastern. And of course, as always, an audio version of the same episode will be available on all podcast platforms simultaneously. The second episode with my teacher Eduardo Salim will premiere on Tuesday, September 20th at 8 PM Eastern time, and the audio version will be published simultaneously as well. And episode 3 with Jolan Chin will premiere in early October, so be sure to stay tuned.

That's right, and if you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review on whatever podcasting platform you use. If you're watching us on YouTube, Remember to give the big thumbs up button, haha, and be sure to subscribe to our channel. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The links are in the description below.

As we mentioned, we are on Patreon. Go to patreon.com/thepianopod and become part of the TPP membership on Patreon, and we'd love to have you and We need your support.

Thank you. And another way to support us is by visiting our Linktree account at linktree.com/thepianopodnyc to receive personalized fan-only content from us with your donation.

Exactly. So if you have any feedback for us or would like to collaborate with us, please leave it in the comments or DM us via social media, or you can also email us at The Piano Pod NYC yukimi-song@gmail.com. We will see you for the next episode, very first episode of The Piano Pod, very soon.

That's right. Bye everyone!