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, surrounded by carefully curated piano miniatures from across cultures and centuries. Rather than treating the album as a collection of pieces, Aïda speaks about programming as experience: sequencing, resonance, and how sound can function as landscape rather than emotional narrative.

We also explore her broader artistic practice—from environmental engagement and rethinking institutional success, to her one-woman show blending stand-up comedy with solo piano performance, and her advocacy for the return of the modern impresario / creative producer in today’s classical music ecosystem.

• 🎧 Listen to Aïda's album, Mirrors and Echoes, on Spotify
• 📝 Meet Our Guest — Aïda Lahlou: Read the accompanying blog exploring Mirrors and Echoes and Aïda’s artistic vision

🎧 THE PIANO POD

• 💖 Become a VIP Member / Unlock exclusive content HERE.
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🎬 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 heart of our discussion is Ravel: how Miroirs functions not as a self-contained cycle, but as a reflective axis — opening pathways to sound worlds across cultures, traditions, and time.

We talk about programming as experience, sound as landscape, and why curiosity and risk are essential tools for artists working outside inherited models of success. This is a conversation about listening deeply, building artistic agency, and reframing tradition without abandoning it.

▶️ Join the premiere on Tuesday, January 27 at 8:00 pm ET

• 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bFeSehfSUck?si=oCYgW6ciVkkf1N-u
• 🎧 Audio episode drops simultaneously https://rss.com/podcasts/the-piano-pod/

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 2028 — and his ongoing recording of Schubert’s complete solo piano works. We explore intimacy versus scale, collaboration between singer and pianist, audience-building for a new generation, and why Schubert’s music remains profoundly human and relevant today.

🎧 Note: This video episode concludes around the 51-minute mark. The audio version continues further, with additional reflections on collaboration, teaching, empathy, and artistic legacy. Find the full episode wherever you listen to podcasts.🎹 Meet Our Guest — Ammiel Bushakevitz

• 📝 Read the blog post exploring Ammiel’s artistry and his approach to Schubert

About Ammiel: Concert pianist, recording artist, and one of today’s leading interpreters of Schubert and the German Lied tradition. Ammiel performs internationally across six continents and is also the Artistic Director of Les Voix d’Orphée, an organization dedicated to song, education, and cultural exchange.

• 🔗 Learn more about Ammiel Bushakevitz
• 🎧 Listen to all the pieces mentioned during the episode here

🎧 THE PIANO POD

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🎬 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 music.

From his bold Schubert 200 project and the journey toward recording Schubert’s complete piano works by 2028, to the return of Schubertiaden and the power of music in small, human spaces, this episode explores what it means to listen deeply in the 21st century.

This is a conversation about storytelling, connection, and why 19th-century music continues to speak with urgency today.

▶️ Join the premiere here on Tuesday, January 13:

https://youtu.be/uWoq0paUvCc?si=ePQCYgqFTY361VOK

🎧 Audio episode drops simultaneously: https://rss.com/podcasts/the-piano-pod/

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 values behind adapting a 700-page book for the operatic stage. She shares insights on distillation, libretti, character reimagining, and the emotional stakes of composing—offering a rare look at how large-scale musical works take shape.

You’ll hear Stefania discuss:

• Transforming a sprawling novel into a cohesive opera
• The unique demands of crafting a focused, effective libretto
• Reimagining characters and narrative power dynamics
• What music can unveil that prose alone cannot
• Choosing a darker, more pointed ending
• The exhilarating—and sometimes brutal—reality of composing

ICYMI: Revisit our full episode on MICROVIDS in Season 6, Episode 3

This episode is a thoughtful reminder that music is not only a craft, but a conviction. Stefania’s perspective highlights how storytelling, ethics, and imagination intersect in contemporary composition.

Thank you for being part of The Piano Pod community this year. We return on January 13, 2026, with a brand-new episode to kick off the new year.

✨ 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
• What it means to reclaim our humanity in an age of technology and AI
• The joy of making music without judgment or pressure

Their reflections feel like the perfect reminder for this season: creativity is not about perfection, but about presence, freedom, and connection.

🎧 Enjoy this bonus episode with Mada and Hugh!

Explore More from Mada & Hugh

📖 Read my blog about their YouTube vlogs: Meet Our Guest: Mada & Hugh Website: madahugh.com YouTube: @madahughpianoduo

🎬 Listen to the original episode released in September 2025: Four Hands, Boundless Creativity — Mada & Hugh Piano Duo here.

💖 Support The Piano Pod

• Subscribe to our Sounds of Inspiration – Piano Works from Season 6 playlist: Click here
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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 of Dr. Takashi Nagai, a survivor who transformed unimaginable loss into a life devoted to peace.

This conversation moves beyond repertoire and performance into questions rarely asked in classical music:

• What responsibility does an artist carry when history is still unresolved? • How does sound hold memory when words fail?

From the history of Urakami Cathedral’s bells, silenced for decades, to Anli’s own journey—moving to the U.S. alone as a child, studying with legendary teachers, and carrying artistic lineage forward—this episode reveals how music can become a moral witness.

It’s a conversation about remembrance, responsibility, and the quiet power of sound to hold history—and humanity—together.

Learn More About Anli Lin Tong

• 📝 Read my blog exploring Anli’s artistry and work
• 📰 Press Coverage: Bells of Nagasaki: Music for Contemplation
• 🎓 Juilliard Feature The Juilliard School highlights Anli’s writing on her teacher Mieczysław Munz:

🎹 THE PIANO POD

• 🎵 Subscribe to the Season 6 Piano Playlist — a collection of every piano work mentioned throughout the episodes:
• 💖 Become a VIP Member or unlock exclusive content:
• 📫 Join our newsletter:
• 🌐 Website: https://thepianopod.com 📱 IG: @thepianopod | FB: @thepianopod | TikTok: @thepianopod 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thepianopod

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

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

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.

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 that will grow into a living archive of research, new music commissions, recordings, interviews, and documentary work.

In this episode, I talk about:

• What the word Zainichi actually means,
• How Japanese colonial rule — not immigration — brought our community into Japan,
• How postwar restructuring and the San Francisco Peace Treaty left Zainichi Koreans stateless,
• What it meant to be born and raised in a country that never fully recognized us as citizens,
• And why this project is my way of honoring our history, resilience, and creative legacy.

For those who want to go deeper, please read my Substack essay, “Behind the Mic: Reclaiming Voice Through Sound,” where I share more about my experience growing up Zainichi.

Thank you for listening — and for being part of The Piano Pod community. If you’d like to follow this new project, you can subscribe to Substack and follow @zainichimusicproject on Instagram and TikTok.

More soon, and thank you for supporting this next chapter.