When you get to a certain point in your life and you have seen the Eiffel Tower,  the Taj Mahal and the elephants in Chiang Mai and  Africa, as well as many other extraordinary trips; perhaps, you want something more. These days  I am eager for a destination that supports and nurtures my love of piano music.  You can go to concerts and recitals at different times and in different locations, however, it demands a great deal of  effort and there is no central organization or a unique comradery.  When I discovered  the Miami International Piano Festival  (MIPF) summer and winter academies, I found my Shangri la.  

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Being a board member of the MIPF, I was granted access to the summer and winter academies.  It permitted me to not only attend the recitals and master classes, I also began to know the world class performers and students who came from all over the world. I have played the piano since I was seven years old.  However, I have never played anywhere near a professional level.  Listening and playing has enabled me to enjoy the music with a keen pleasure when I attend the academies. When the artists and the students come to the academies, they bring their cultures and their humanity as well as their talent.  Watching the students change day by day, as they perfect their performances, is a super charged experience to the listener. 

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For the last two winters, our academy has been hosted by the Cadet Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.  The owner, Dr. Vilma Biaggi, generously offers this gift in January. Pianos are available so that each student always has a piano for practice.  Recitals by the faculty artists and students follow at the end of the session in locations like the Wolfsonian Museum and the Botanical Gardens.  

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The first summer academy I attended was at a seventeenth century villa in a rural area of Italy, about forty miles from Milan.  The owner had approximately two hundred and fifty pianos and each student had a piano for practice in his bedroom.  Students were vetted by the director, Giselle Brodsky, the founder of MIPF, who created the MIPF twenty-five years ago with a specific philosophy of piano performance.  Unlike other piano performance pedagogies, Mme. Brodsky strives to convey the expression of the artist as well as the music while others are often only interested in the correct interpretation of the music. Gifted performing artists and talented students are drawn to her like a magnet. Her emboldened energy to invent new avenues for the MIPF never ceases.  The result is like watching magic being performed.  

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This coming summer a new location in Italy will be the site of the 2024 MIPF academy.  It will take place in Dobbiaco, Italy, on the Austrian border, with a view of the jagged peaks of the  Dolomite mountain range in the Alps.  There will be opportunities to explore the ancient and modern areas of Dobbiaco, which has a long history of different occupiers. Whether it’s  the geological aspects of a 250 million year old city from the Triassic period or a visit to the home of the composer, Gustav Mahler, Dobbiaco promises to be an exciting destination that will reward my music passion.

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