| The Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) is considered the best music institute in China and represents the highest level of music education in China. Since the founding of the CCOM in 1950, its piano department has been a national center for teaching, performance and research. The CCOM has trained hundreds of pianists; many of them are now key members of music schools, art organizations, and research institutes all over China and some of them have won prizes at major international competitions.;Through fifty years of efforts by Chinese pianists and the influences of foreign pianists, especially Russian pianists, the CCOM has created a unique piano teaching system that embraces both Chinese and Western philosophies. This study discusses the development of the CCOM piano program, Russian influences on pianism at the CCOM, profiles of key piano faculty members at the CCOM, and their piano teaching philosophies. Profiles of Zhou Guangren, Li Qifang and Yang Jun are included as well as detailed descriptions of their teaching methods and philosophies, based on personal interviews by the author. |
