Professional Concert Pianist – Limited Private Studio in NYC looking for committed students

Learn more about Tiago

• 1) When did you first develop a passion for music and your favorite instrument?

  When I was a kid (6/7 years old), my dad showed me all this records with the greatest composers from music history. Initially, I was particularly driven towards Chopin and Rachmaninoff, who helped develop my passion for piano.

• 2) Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  I can listen to Wagner operas non-stop, which are extremely intense and passionate, keeping me inspired and reminding me why I make music every day.

• 3) Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  The most riveting course I could offer would focus on long-form musical storytelling at the piano—training students to sustain tension, coherence, and expressive depth across extended works. Drawing on composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, the course would push beyond technical mastery toward artistic inevitability, where sound, timing, and structure converge into a compelling and personal narrative.

• 4) What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  As the great Arthur Rubinstein said, “the piano is the easiest instrument to learn, however the hardest to master”. The piano is such a dense instrument, enabling so many possibilities, and the repertoire is so vast that there is enough work for multiple lifetimes.

• 5) What are your keys to success?

  I believe success revolves around 4 crucial factors, which must to coexist together - passion, ambition, discipline and, of course, a bit of luck. I would say that a successful career begins with passion, which generates the ambition that fuels high discipline, and then hopefully luck comes in last to push you towards the right connections and opportunities that make you a thriving professional.

• 6) Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  Ironically, all of the musicians that I’m interested in chatting with are dead. However, if I could somehow bring musicians back to life, I’d like to have a conversation with Chopin, Beethoven and Wagner. First of all, I’d like to gain insights on the most optimal piano technique from Chopin, the ultimate master of the instrument. Then, I would chat with Beethoven about how he could compose the works that changed the history of music forever, even though he was deaf and therefore alienated from the musical sound. Finally, I’d meet up with Wagner, my favorite composer of all time, and hopefully learn some of the secrets on how to create music that triggers the most intense human emotions, by perfectly controlling melody and harmony.

• 7) Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  In 2015, I was in Portugal having lessons with the world-renowned-Russian pianist Vladimir Viardo. I remember playing for him the famous Ballade no. 1 by Chopin, trying to make it absolutely perfect and flawless, to what he reacted: “Do you think you’ll thrive by playing perfectly? There are probably multiple millions of pianists playing this piece flawlessly. Your goal must be to thrive by uniqueness and personal interpretation.”
  From that day on, I decided that my main focus would not be perfection, but rather to make music in my own way, playing famous pieces in ways that people never heard them before.

• 8) What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I always encourage my students to be themselves by asking them what music they like to listen/play early on. As I mentioned before, discipline has to come from great passion, and therefore I think students are happier and more productive when playing (partially or fully) music that they enjoy.