In this episode, I sit down with pianist and educator Mirna Lekić for a conversation that spans continents, sound worlds, and the deeper layers of what music can mean in a human life.

Born and raised in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and now based in New York City, Mirna brings a rare perspective to the piano — one shaped by resilience, migration, devotion, and an unshakable belief in music as a stabilizing, healing force.

We explore her acclaimed 2023 album MIRAGE, a breathtaking collection of sonic illusions and cultural crossings that reimagines the piano as a global storyteller — moving from Azerbaijan to Spain, Armenia to Java, and beyond.

This episode dives into:

• how early musical experiences during war shaped Mirna’s artistic identity
• the healing and stabilizing role music played during her family’s resettlement
• the depth of Bosnian and Balkan musical influences
• how cultural diversity becomes musical philosophy, not performance
• MIRAGE and its groundbreaking approach to sound, resonance, and identity
• collaborative work with living composers, shadow puppeteers, and multidisciplinary artists
• how educators can guide young musicians toward authenticity in a rapidly changing world

It’s a conversation about healing, devotion, heritage, and the power of sound to help us make sense of where we come from — and where we’re going.

🌟 SOUND BITES

“Music was a healing presence.” “Music study demands devotion.” “Music can be a lifeline.”

🎧 FEATURED LINKS FROM MIRNA'S WORK

From the album Masks:

• Debussy, The Toybox (opening)
• Villa-Lobos: Negrinha, No. 5 from Baby’s Family

From MIRAGE:

• Ali-Zadeh — Music for Piano
• Lachenmann — Guero
• Cowell — Aeolian Harp

From Eastern Currents: Ramin Heydarbeygi — Aramesh

Mirna’s Shadow Puppetry Collaborations:

• https://youtu.be/V5Tj2ZHDGS8?si=Aa05gwPs0R0evO8r
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duMJtVPVOIs&t=262s

Read my review on Mirna's Album, MIRAGE on Substack

The trailer for our upcoming episode is now live—and it offers a glimpse into one of the most reflective and quietly powerful conversations of this season.

In Season 6, Episode 8 of The Piano Pod, I sit down with pianist and educator Anli Lin Tong for a deeply moving conversation about music as memory, faith, lineage, and moral witness.

At the heart of this episode is Anli’s recent project, Bells of Nagasaki: Music for Contemplation—a concert created to honor the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. What began as a song her father used to sing, The Bells of Nagasaki, became the seed for a project shaped by history, spiritual reckoning, and the life of Dr. Takashi Nagai, a survivor who devoted his life to forgiveness and peace.

Our conversation moves beyond repertoire and performance into questions that are rarely asked in classical music: What role can music play in healing and forgiveness? What responsibility does an artist carry when history is still unresolved?

We also trace Anli’s artistic lineage—from early piano lessons guided by her father, to moving to the U.S. alone as a minor, to studying with legendary teachers and carrying their legacy forward through her work as a performer and educator.

This episode is a reflection on remembrance, responsibility, and the artist’s calling—and on the quiet power of music to hold history, faith, and humanity together.

✨ The full episode premieres Tuesday, December 16, at 8:00 PM ET on YouTube, with the audio episode released simultaneously on all major podcast platforms.

📝 Learn more about Anli and her work HERE

— Yukimi

Here is the TRAILER — Between Worlds: From Sarajevo to New York: A Conversation on Cultural Crossings, Sonic Identity, and the Art of Connection feat. Mirna Lekić

This week on The Piano Pod, I sit down with pianist and champion of new music Mirna Lekić for a conversation that moves between cultures, sound worlds, and the deeper layers of artistic identity. From Sarajevo to New York, we explore cultural crossings, sonic imagination, and the power of music to connect and ground us.

✨ The full episode drops this Tuesday, December 9 at 8pm ET — and I’d love for you to join us.

📺 Set Reminder for the YouTube Premiere

🎧 Audio episode will be available everywhere simultaneously

📝 Learn more about Mirna and her album MIRAGE on Substack

See you on Tuesday for a powerful conversation on cultural crossings, sonic identity, and the art of connection.

In this episode of The Piano Pod, I sit down with Elena Riu — pianist, groundbreaking recording artist, educator, and yoga/mindfulness teacher — whose work has reshaped how we think about artistry, embodiment, and the future of piano performance. Elena has long been a force of quiet revolution.

Long before conversations about inclusivity and expanded repertoire entered the mainstream, she was commissioning bold new works, centering Latin-American and women composers, and exploring how breath, movement, and somatic awareness can transform the way we play and teach music.

This conversation travels across the full spectrum of her artistry — from embodied performance to cultural identity, from the menstrual cycle as a source of creativity to breaking nineteenth-century norms about who pianists should be and what they should play. If you’ve ever wondered how breath shapes sound, how identity shapes expression, or how artists can create courageously beyond convention, this is a conversation you won’t forget.

[Explore Elena’s Work]

Salsa Nueva — Score (16-piece anthology):

• 📘 Purchase on Stretta
• 📘 Purchase on Presto Music

Salsa Nueva — Album (with Latin percussionist Wilmer Sifontes):

• 🎧 SOMM Recordings

Out of the Blues / R&B Collection — Score:

• 📘 Purchase on Presto Music

Piano Icons for the 21st Century (Linn Records):

• 🎧 Amazon

🌐 Elena’s Website

✨ If you enjoyed this episode…

• Please like, comment, and subscribe — it truly helps our community grow.
• Follow The Piano Pod on social media for more conversations at the intersection of creativity, connection, and the evolving world of classical music.
• 📝 My blog on Elena & her album Salsa Nueva:
• 🎵 Listen to our Sounds of Inspiration – Piano Works from Season 6 Playlist

Thank you for listening — and for supporting a space where artists can be fully themselves.

#ThePianoPod #Season6 #ElenaRiu #EmbodiedMusician #EmbodiedPianist #ClassicalMusic #Piano #SalsaNueva #MindfulnessForMusicians #Somatics #YogaForMusicians #NewMusic #LatinAmericanComposers #CreativeCourage #PianistLife

🎶✨ What if jazz could be taught as naturally as language—where freedom, creativity, and collaboration drive learning?

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 5 of The Piano Pod, featuring Quentin Walston — pianist, composer, educator, and founder of This Is Jazz™. In this conversation, we explore how Quentin bridges performance, pedagogy, and entrepreneurship through his acclaimed book How to Teach Jazz & Improvisation and his growing online platform empowering educators worldwide.

In our talk, Quentin shares:

• ✅ His mission to make jazz approachable for every student
• ✅ How his book helps teachers with little or no jazz background start confidently
• ✅ Turning small classroom moments into creative breakthroughs
• ✅ Building a thriving online community for jazz educators
• ✅ Balancing artistry and business as a modern musician
• ✅ His personal journey — from discovering jazz as a child to releasing his album Retro Future

👉 Stay tuned until the end for rapid-fire fun and key insights on creativity, confidence, and cultivating joy through improvisation.

🎼 Explore Quentin’s Work

• 🌐 Website: quentinwalston.com
• 📘 Book: How to Teach Jazz & Improvisation
• 🎵 Platform: This Is Jazz
• 💿 Album: Retro Future

🎧 The Piano Pod 💖 Subscribe or unlock exclusive content: thepianopod.substack.com 🎵 Listen to our Sounds of Inspiration – Piano Works from Season 6 playlist: YouTube Playlist 📫 Join our newsletter: Sign Up

Stay Connected:

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• 🚨 linktr.ee/thepianopod
• 📱 Instagram: @thepianopod
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• ⏳ TikTok: @thepianopod

The Piano Pod Live in Concert: A Bold New Chapter in Classical Music marked the first-ever live event for the award-winning podcast and YouTube show The Piano Pod, conceived and hosted by Executive Producer Yukimi Song. Presented in collaboration with Mannes Prep, a pre-college music program offering comprehensive and nurturing pre-professional training at The New School, this milestone concert brought the show’s signature format — music performance, interview, and panel discussion — from the digital space to the stage.

🎹 Featured Artists

• Dr. Jee-Hoon Krska — Prelude in G-sharp Minor, Op. 32 No. 12 by Sergei Rachmaninoff 🔗 https://www.keystosuccessnewark.org
• Eleonor Bindman — her transcription of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 for piano four hands (Secondo: Yukimi Song) 🔗 https://www.eleonorbindman.com
• Dr. Nnenna Ogwo — The Sun is Rising by Black American composer Consuela Lee 🔗 https://www.juneteenthlp.org
• Donna Weng Friedman ( @donnawengfriedman9968 ) — Fantasy on The Wizard of Oz by William Hirtz for piano four hands (Secondo: Yukimi Song) 🔗 https://www.donnawengfriedman.com

🎙️ About the Event Filmed live at Ernst C. Stiefel Hall at The New School, this 90-minute event blended world-class performances with an engaging interview session and audience panel discussion. The artists shared personal stories, insights on collaboration, and visions for keeping classical music vibrant and relevant today. 💬 Special Guests Caroline Sonett-Assor, Director of Mannes Prep, The New School Audience members and artists in conversation

• 🎥 Video by: Scott Chiu, Portable Recording Studio (https://www.portablerecordingstudio.com/)
• 📸 Photography by: Vin Carvalho (https://www.thephotoartstudio.com/)

✨ Presented by: The Piano Pod — Where tradition meets innovation. In Collaboration with: Mannes Prep, The New School Produced by: Yukimi Song Studio LLC

#ThePianoPod #MannesPrep #LiveConcert #ClassicalMusic #PianoPodcast #ConcertAndConversation #PanelDiscussion #CreativityAndConnection #DonnaWengFriedman #NnennaOgwo #EleonorBindman #JeeHoonKrska #YukimiSong #TheNewSchool

🎶✨ How can nineteen tiny piano miniatures blossom into one of the most expansive, collaborative, and award-winning projects of our time?

Welcome to Season 6 Episode 3: The World of MICROVIDS — Composer & Advocate for Women in Music, Stefania de Kenessey. In this episode of The Piano Pod, I sit down with Stefania de Kenessey, a composer whose works have been heard at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, La MaMa, and around the world.

Her latest project, Microvids, began as nineteen piano miniatures written during the pandemic — and has since grown into a global tapestry of music, poetry, improvisation, orchestral performance, and film.

In our conversation, Stefania opens up about:

• ✅ The surprising origins of MICROVIDS and how “tiny nothings” became her richest work
• ✅ Collaborations with pianist Donna Weng Friedman, violinist Curtis Stewart, narrator Krystal Joy Brown, and the New Jersey Youth Symphony under Helen Cha-Pyo
• ✅ Award-winning films inspired by MICROVIDS, including Silent Cry
• ✅ How MICROVIDS can connect with youth orchestras and piano students around the world
• ✅ Her advocacy for women in music, her Hungarian roots, and her expansive multi-genre style — from opera to dance to provocative video works like Menstrual Rosary

👉 Stay tuned until the end for rapid-fire fun, candid reflections, and exclusive performance excerpts from MICROVIDS, Unorthodox, and Menstrual Rosary.

https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6751/

• 🌐 Stefania's Website
• 🎬 Watch Silent Cry (award-winning short film)
• 🎬 Watch Menstrual Rosary (winner of 33 film awards)

[The Piano Pod]

• 💖 Subscribe TPP on Substack to unlock exclusive content
• 🎵 Listen to our Sounds of Inspiration – Piano Works from Season 6 playlist
• 📫 Subscribe to our newsletter
• 🚨 Latest News: https://linktr.ee/thepianopod
• 🌐 Website: https://thepianopod.com

🎹🔥 What makes a four-hand piano duo so powerful, intimate, and endlessly creative?

Welcome to Season 6 Episode 2: Four Hands, Boundless Creativity — Mada & Hugh, the Award-Winning Duo on Love, Life & Artistic Freedom

In this captivating episode of The Piano Pod, I sit down with the award-winning Mada & Hugh Piano Duo — Romanian-born pianist Mădălina-Claudia Dănilă and Korean-American pianist Hugh Sung. Known for their electrifying four-hand performances, imaginative arrangements, and engaging video productions, Mada & Hugh are redefining what it means to collaborate in classical music today.

In our conversation, they open up about:

• The artistry and intimacy of four-hand piano playing
• Their daring arrangements, from Romanian folk gems to Sweet Child O’ Mine
• Behind-the-scenes secrets of their video production and vlogs
• Mădălina’s journey from Romania to the U.S. and her research on George Crumb
• Hugh’s entrepreneurial path — inventing AirTurn and pushing the boundaries of music tech
• The risks they’ve taken to reinvent themselves and the courage it takes to build a new artistic life together

👉 Stay tuned until the end for rapid-fire fun, candid reflections on creativity and connection, and exclusive performance excerpts — including Suita din Dobrogea and Silence and a Face from Christian Mecham’s Three Omens.

[Mada & Hugh Piano Duo]

• Website:
• YouTube Channel
• 🎼Download their amazing 4-hand arrangements HERE

[The Piano Pod]

• Subscribe to TPP on Substack for free or unlock exclusive materials with a paid subscription
• Subscribe to our Sounds of Inspiration – Piano Works from Season 6 playlist
• Latest News
• Website