Although my childhood and adolescent years were different and difficult, they were stimulating, interesting, and exciting; and as I look back I increasingly appreciate the good points. I had the benefit of learning from so many distinguished performing artists and teachers, from Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky, Arthur Rubinstein, and Janos Starker to Gyorgy Sebok, Menahem Pressler, Josef Gingold, Annie Fisher, Rosina Lhevinne, Abbey Simon, Emil Giles, Aube Tzerko, and Leonard Stein as well as Carmelita Maracci, the renown dance instructor in Los Angeles at the time I studied ballet.

What were some of the important ideas from each person?
Great teachers say similar things, yet their personalities and temperaments are so varied, each expresses artistic and pedagogic concepts in very different ways. For instance, from the time I was 10 until I reached 18, I studied with Aube Tzerko, the foremost teacher in Los Angeles, who passed on Artur Schnabel's legacy, and Leonard Stein, Schoenberg's assistant and the director of the Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California. Tzerko's teaching was intense but with little structure. He was never on time. For a 4 p.m. lesson he would start at 5 or 6 p.m.; at 8 p.m. we might take a break for dinner and then the lesson would continue.

Stein's teaching was structured, intellectual, and packed with knowledge. We covered theory, history, counterpoint, orchestration, 20th-century music, score reading, transcription, and ethnomusicology. Sometimes the lesson was two hours long, and he might invite me to come back again later in the week. This happened on a regular basis; life was spontaneous. The old-fashioned way to study was  to spend an entire afternoon at the teacher's house. 

My introduction to chamber music was through Gregor Piatagorsky, the renowned cellist who decided I needed to play chamber music. My first lesson was at age 11 in his home where he told me  an hour-long story about the Beethoven A Major Cello Sonata. He explained how the cello started, then discussed Beethoven's life and the concept of thematic transformation. Finally we played the piece, even though I could barely sightread the music. Afterwards he played two or three different recordings and gave me the assignment to learn the piece. That type of teaching is more personal than the typical teaching of today. 

Despite differences in teaching styles and even technical ideas, the long-range goals of freedom, flexibility, expression, and accuracy were the same with all my teachers. Another common thread was the notion of always being creative and stretching yourself in practice as well as in performance – and always staying fresh. 

What are your memories of studying with Artur Rubinstein?
After I won the Chopin Competition, he wanted to hear me play. Eventually we met in the Presidential Suite of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. There was a concert grand in the middle of the living room, where I had about six lessons. When I came in he was at the piano playing. He looked like a film star as he sat in a red dressing gown with a glass of cognac nearby.

After I played the Chopin Barcarolle, he remarked that it was very good and asked if I would like to hear him play it. As I listened and watched, I learned so much about what he did physically. This was the first time I was so close to a concert artist. Next he played the Chopin Bb Minor Sonata and several pieces he would perform in coming recitals. 

After about an hour and a half, we talked about his favorite writers, what it was like to live in Paris, and his philosophy of life. The following week we went through the same routine. I received wonderful images from him, and my sound started to change.  He told me to sit down in a room alone and figure out what I wanted to say with the piano and how I wanted to say it. 

How did you come to study with Gyorgy Sebok and Janos Starker?
While driving in Los Angeles I heard a radio broadcast of Janos Starker and Gyorgy Sebok playing the Chopin Polonaise for Cello and Piano. The opening piano run was so beautiful that I had to  pull off the road to listen more closely. The artists captivated my imagination, so after learning that both men taught at Indiana University, I decided to go to Bloomington. Starker heard me play, then introduced me to Sebok. They emphasized playing with ease and efficiency, and both shared a wealth of information with me. The great lesson from each was that a musician could teach, perform, communicate, and educate in a kind and intelligent manner. They were never overly emotional or intimidating, rather music making came by way of simple conversations, beautiful demonstrations, and tremendous patience. Their love of teaching and music was obvious and enormous.

There was always enough personal time. These teachers were performers who allowed students to get close and see how they worked. I went to their rehearsals and often turned pages. Those were truly golden years at Indiana, from 1969 to 1972. William Primrose, Josef Gingold, Abbey Simon, and Jorge Bolet all taught there then too. At Indiana I also studied some with Meneham Pressler and had composition with Iannis Xenakis.

Why did you form the New Arts Trio?
I was on the faculty at the North Carolina School of the Arts, when the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee asked me to create a chamber music program around a resident piano trio. After the pressure of my childhood years, which included a lot of of solo playing and competitions, the idea of working with a trio was a welcome change. As with most ensembles the members have changed many times. Now the trio includes Jacques Israelievitch, concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony, and Arie Lipsky, music director and conductor of the Ann Arbor Symphony. This fall we will begin to record a series called New Arts Trio in Recital at Chautauqua (Fleur De Son Classics) that will combine standard trio repertoire with wonderful 20th-century trios. 

Do you think of yourself more as an artist or as a teacher?
I think of myself as both. At Indiana I discovered the joy and balance of combining playing and teaching. Now I can't enjoy doing one without the other. It is a good balance because this way I don't feel either unimportant or too important. In the coming months I will be performing and teaching in many other places – Montana, Washington, Florida, and Canada– alone and with the New Arts Trio. I find great happiness in helping students develop and do well, while at the same time I continue to learn and set new performing goals for myself.