About Me: Reviews

Mrs Petrov's approach is to teach you how to teach yourself by approaching the challenges in a new piece in a systematic and intelligent way. She has a technique, tip or practice aid for most situations and the result is improvement (or at least a road map for improvement) rather than frustration. Some of the tips may seem unorthodox, as my wife can attest, after she found that I had borrowed her handbags (that I put on my wrists) to assist in developing proper weight in the forearm, but they are helpful. Her innate and complete understanding of the instrument and of the anatomy of playing is remarkable. How anyone can deduce (by overhearing a warm up scale from the kitchen next to the studio practice room where she is making coffee), that there is slight tension in the fourth finger of the left hand is beyond me.

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Edward Bennion-Pedley
Barrister & Mature Student

She motivates all levels of learners and makes her students think 'outside the box' in order to become well-rounded and musically intellectual students. For me personally, my piano lessons with Marina take me back to Music College and place me in the driving seat of my own learning - and I love that!

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Peter Austin
Head of Music
Hornsey School for Girls

When I first met Marina, I was struggling to break out of a slump after many years of mechanical piano playing. Since I started lessons with her, she inspired me greatly and I have progressed enormously with her guidance. She is a wonderful piano teacher with great knowledge, skills and patience. It is amazing that she has such a good ear that she can point out exactly what I need to do to play better. She is the teacher who taught me not just to play pieces but how to listen to and understand what the music is saying. I owe a lot to her for my success in exams including a diploma over the past few years and am still excited about the prospect of more progress with her in the future.

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Kumiko Otsuka
Mature student

When I have a problem concerning my piano playing, instead of just telling me off, she would explain what I am doing wrong. Then, she not only suggests a solution that might work, but also explains why it is correct. A particular example of a problem that I came across frequently due to my posture was what Mrs. Petrov calls "sausage thumbs" (her expression for flat thumbs on the keys).

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Jeevana Jeganathan
15 years old student

I was a complete beginner unable to read music and am of 'mature' years. Although Marina is a professor of music capable of playing extremely complicated musical scores, I feel she pays as much attention to detail in my lessons as she would if she were teaching a concert pianist.

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Claire Abrahart
Mature student

Within a year, my technique was greatly improved due to techniques that Ms. Petrov taught me, allowing me to advance to a higher level. She also taught me that merely playing the notes was not the same as playing well. This may seem intuitive, but it is something that not many teachers focus on.

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Nathan Sebastian
Graduate from Imperial College