The Piano Pod - a global hub for innovation, education, and connection in classical piano music
...where tradition meets innovation. Together, we bring PIANO into the FUTURE. a global hub for innovation, education, and connection in classical piano music Hey, 🎹 enthusiasts out there! My name is Yukimi, a classical pianist and educator from NYC and executive producer of The Piano Pod. The Piano Pod🎙 is a one-of-a-kind podcast that delves deep into the fascinating world of classical music, with a specific focus on the 🎹 piano. In a biweekly format, the show explores intriguing discussions with guests breaking exciting new ground in the classical music industry. The Piano Pod aims to nurture a thriving community that embraces innovative approaches to ensure classical music's relevance and vitality in today's dynamic landscape. "How can I present the beautiful tradition of classical music to the 21st-century audience in a fun, contemporary, and engaging way?" When I started building a piano studio in the trendy neighborhood of Downtown Manhattan in 2007 while in the NYU graduate program in piano studies, I began to ponder this question. I realized the stark difference in expectations toward classical music and music education between music professionals and the general public. Then, one of the NYU music department's professors suggested I start a podcast: the platform would allow classical musicians to address this disparity and spark conversations about audience engagement. Finally, fast forward to 10+ years later, The Piano Pod was born in the summer of 2020. Since then, I have had the privilege of interviewing A-listers in the classical music industry: international concert pianists, composers, arrangers, digital streamers/influencers, music educators, entrepreneurs, neurodiverse specialists, and performance psychologists. Through fascinating conversations, we have explored how classical music should continue to evolve to remain relevant to our lifestyle, society, and culture. Over the past three seasons, The Piano Pod has achieved remarkable success by reaching faithful listeners on audio platforms and viewers via YouTube. As the show is celebrating the past season's achievements and gearing toward the new season in the fall, my mission as the Executive Producer is crystal clear: to provide a platform for classical musicians and educators to reflect and discuss ways to keep our industry robust and meaningful in this ever-changing world and move it forward in the post-pandemic era. 🔗Follow TPP on social media accounts to get the latest news about 🎹. Thanks for listening♥️🎹
Episodes
Accents of Love: Vivian Fang Liu on Artistry, Belonging, and Music for the Next Generation
The Piano Pod — Season 6, Episode 13
In this episode of The Piano Pod, pianist, singer-songwriter, composer, educator, and music researcher Vivian Fang Liu joins host Yukimi Song for a powerful conversation about identity, creativity, and the role of music in shaping the next generation.
Vivian Fang Liu is a classically trained pianist whose wor...
Here is the trailer for our upcoming episode of The Piano Pod.
Concert pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer Vivian Fang Liu joins us for a powerful conversation about music, identity, and belonging.
From her award-winning children’s albums to cross-genre artistry shaped by classical piano, Vivian shares how her work brings together performance, storytelling, and education to empower the next generation.
Composer Sean Hickey joins The Piano Pod to discuss Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — his monumental piano cycle inspired by Yuval Noah Harari’s bestselling book.
From imagined orders and human cooperation to empire, biology, AI, and the future of artistic sustainability, this episode explores what it means to create — and remain human — in a rapidly changing world. Performed by pianist Vladimir Rumyantsev, Sapiens translates...
🎥 Here is the trailer for our new eps featuring Sean Hickey, Composer/Record Label Executive
Composer Sean Hickey joins The Piano Pod to discuss Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind for the Piano — his monumental piano cycle inspired by Yuval Noah Harari’s bestselling book.
From imagined orders and human cooperation to empire, biology, AI, and the future of artistic sustainability, this conversation explores what it means to creat...
This surprise bonus episode was created in collaboration with Mannes School of Music at The New School.
In this conversation, I sit down with Pavlina Dokovska — internationally active concert pianist, Chair of the Piano Department at Mannes School of Music, and Artistic Director of the Mannes International Piano Festival — to explore what it truly means to build artists in today’s musical and cultural moment.
We discuss serious piano...
🚨 Bonus Episode Drops Tonight
Here’s the trailer.
Building Artists Through Music & Mentorship with Pavlina Dokovska
What does it really take to build an artist?
In this special collaboration, The Piano Pod sits down with Pavlina Dokovska — internationally active concert pianist, Chair of the Piano Department at Mannes School of Music, and Artistic Director of the Mannes International Piano Festival — for a candid conversation on s...
In this episode of The Piano Pod, host Yukimi Song sits down with pianist, composer, visual artist, and poet Asiya Korepanova for a wide-ranging conversation on extreme repertoire, transcription as a creative act, long-form artistic commitment, and what it means to think at scale as a musician today.
Born into a deeply musical family in Izhevsk, Russia, and now based in the United States, Asiya’s career is defined by projects many w...
🎬 Official Trailer — Fearless Visionwith Asiya Korepanova
For our upcoming episode of The Piano Pod, host Yukimi Song sits down with Asiya Korepanova — pianist, composer, visual artist, and poet — for a deep conversation on long-form artistic commitment, transcription as a creative act, and what it means to build a life in music shaped by depth, curiosity, and fearless vision.
Asiya is known for her daring piano transcriptions and f...
In this episode of The Piano Pod, host Yukimi Song sits down with pianist, recording artist, and multidisciplinary creator Aïda Lahlou for an in-depth conversation on Ravel’s Miroirs, sound as physical reality, and what it means to build an artistic life through curiosity, risk, and purpose.
At the center of the conversation is Aïda’s debut album, Mirrors and Echoes—a recording that places Ravel’s Miroirs as its reflective core, su...
🎬 OFFICIAL TRAILER Season 6, Episode 10 Mirrors and Echoes — Ravel, Resonance, and Reframing Tradition
What happens when Ravel’s Miroirs becomes the center of a much larger listening journey? In this episode of The Piano Pod, I sit down with Aïda Lahlou — UK-based, award-winning pianist and multidisciplinary artist — for an in-depth conversation on her debut album Mirrors and Echoes and the ideas shaping her work today.
At the hea...
In this episode of The Piano Pod, host Yukimi Song sits down with concert pianist and recording artist Ammiel Bushakevitz for a wide-ranging conversation on Franz Schubert, the German Lied tradition, and what makes 19th-century music speak powerfully to 21st-century audiences.
Ammiel shares insights from his major long-term projects, including Schubert 200 — a multi-album Lied collaboration building toward Schubert’s bicentennial in...
🎬 OFFICIAL TRAILER
Season 6, Episode 9 Schubert Now — Concert Pianist, Ammiel Bushakevitz on Storytelling, Connection, and the Road to the 2028 Bicentennial
Why does Schubert still matter today?
In our first episode of 2026, I sit down with concert pianist and recording artist Ammiel Bushakevitz for a wide-ranging conversation on Schubert, the German Lied tradition, and why intimacy — not scale — may shape the future of classical mus...
To close out 2025, The Piano Pod brings you a special year-end bonus episode featuring composer and storyteller Stefania De Kenessey. Earlier this season, we explored her MICROVIDS project; today, Stefania takes us behind the scenes of another major undertaking: her opera The Bonfire of the Vanities, based on Tom Wolfe’s iconic novel.
In this conversation, Stefania reflects on the creative risks, structural challenges, and artistic ...
✨ Happy Holidays, friends!
This extra segment comes from Season 6, Episode 2 with the award-winning Mada & Hugh Piano Duo. Our conversation ran longer than expected, and while this part didn’t make it into the final episode, I couldn’t keep it from you — it’s just too good.
In this excerpt, Mada & Hugh open up about creativity in its purest form:
- How hobbies and play can recharge us
- Why music connects us beyond perfection
- Wh...
What does a piano recital have to do with war, faith, and forgiveness?
In this episode of The Piano Pod, pianist and educator Anli Lin Tong shares the story behind Bells of Nagasaki: Music for Contemplation—a profoundly moving concert created for the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
What began as a single song her father used to sing—The Bells of Nagasaki—became a powerful act of remembrance, shaped by the legacy o...
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—...
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.
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, ...
Happy Thanksgiving! In this bonus episode, I’m sharing something deeply personal — a part of my identity I’ve rarely spoken about publicly. I am a third-generation Zainichi Korean, born and raised in Japan, and I’m finally stepping into that history through a new creative initiative called The Zainichi Music Project, now sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts.
This episode marks the beginning of that journey — a project t...
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...
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
How do the smartest marketers and business entrepreneurs cut through the noise? And how do they manage to do it again and again? It's a combination of math—the strategy and analytics—and magic, the creative spark. Join iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman as he analyzes the Math and Magic of marketing—sitting down with today's most gifted disruptors and compelling storytellers.
Saskia Inwood woke up one morning, knowing her life would never be the same. The night before, she learned the unimaginable – that the husband she knew in the light of day was a different person after dark. This season unpacks Saskia’s discovery of her husband’s secret life and her fight to bring him to justice. Along the way, we expose a crime that is just coming to light. This is also a story about the myth of the “perfect victim:” who gets believed, who gets doubted, and why. We follow Saskia as she works to reclaim her body, her voice, and her life. If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team, email us at betrayalpod@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
The Dan Bongino Show delivers no-nonsense analysis of the day’s most important political and cultural stories. Hosted by the former Deputy Director of the FBI, former Secret Service agent, NYPD officer, and bestselling author Dan Bongino, the show cuts through media spin with facts, accountability, and unapologetic conviction. Whether it’s exposing government overreach, defending constitutional freedoms, or connecting the dots the mainstream media ignores, The Dan Bongino Show provides in-depth analysis of the issues shaping America today. Each episode features sharp commentary, deep dives into breaking news, and behind-the-scenes insight you won’t hear anywhere else. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dan-bongino-show/id965293227?mt=2 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sftHO603JaFqpuQBEZReL?si=PBlx46DyS5KxCuCXMOrQvw Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/bongino?e9s=src_v1_sa%2Csrc_v4_sa_o