User:Alanfraserpiano

Philip Cohen, Canadian pianist and piano pedagogue. Born in Montreal in the late 1920's-early 30's, he comes from a family of musicians. His grandfather was the director of a big band in Montreal. He studied piano under Yvonne Hubert, who had been assistant to the great French pianist and pedagogue Alfred Cortot in Paris. Yvonne Hubert later produced many of Canada's luminary pianists such as Andre Laplante, Ronald Turini, Janina Fialkowska, Marc Andre Hamelin, Marc Durand and Louis Lortie. Cohen eventually became Yvonne Hubert's assistant. He taught piano at McGill University for several years before moving to Concordia University where he established the Graduate Diploma in Advanced Music Performance Studies. This was the precursor to the Leonardo Project, which Cohen created to study the psychology of high-level performance not only in piano but in the wider fields of music and dance. The Leonardo Project was the feature of several television documentaries notably on Discovery Channel.

Cohen's contribution to piano pedagogy is unique. His cultivation and knowledge of the psycho-physical processes involved in the manifestation of the biological, expressive gestures inherent in musical compositions in actual performance is legendary. He continues to work with both piano and other students in Montreal.