Xoán Elías Castiñeira
Personal details
| Date of Birth | June 1983 |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Languages | Spanish, English, German |
| Qualifications | Bachelor Piano Performance, ESMUC, Barcelona, Spain MMus Advanced Musical Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London |
| Rates | £25 - £35 per hour (if travel is required) per lesson (between 1 and 2 hours according to need) |
| Own teaching facilities | Yes |
| Travel | Yes, on agreement |
| Location | Streatham, Tulse Hill, West Norwood (South West London) |
Biography
Musical Education
Xoán was educated in Barcelona, Berlin and London, and studied piano with E.Solé, F. Bidini.
Other important influences in his pianistic education have been Alicia de Larrocha, M. Tipo, E. Púppulo, L. Howard. He also worked with Nelly Ben-Or (London), in the application of the Alexander Technique to playing, which proved a great help as a way of enhancing musical learning and performance.
As an accompanist, he has devoted great attention to the German Lied, attending masterclasses by D. Fischer-Dieskau.
Artistic Experience
Xoán has played as a soloist, with orchestra and as a vocal accompanist in a number of European countries. As a recitalist, he likes to organise thematic programmes, unified by a particular thought or argument (e.g. performance styles in the XX century, or singing at the piano). He played as a soloist with several orchestras.
In September 2007, he played a Mozart Concerto in Barcelona´s Palau de la Música. He has been invited in many occasions by the several orchestras to play the piano parts of works such as Petroushka, Firebird (Stravinsky), El sombrero de tres picos (Falla), VIII Symphony (Mahler), among others.
As an accompanist, he performs regularly and has contributed to the performance of contemporary works.
Teaching
Some of the key-points of my work deal with:
- Effectiveness. How to learn a piece easily, and how to improve our learning.
- Relationship body/mind. Search for a “natural technique”.
- Enhancing musical knowledge as a basis of learning.
I am always happy to help students and music lovers in general, and I share my understanding of music with great pleasure. My aim is to adapt my teaching abilities to every individual case and to provide a relaxed yet serious framework for enjoyable music-making.
Xoán Elías Castiñeira
