In this episode, The Piano Pod interviews Chantal Balestri, a brilliant young concert pianist, teacher, and festival organizer. Trained as a soloist in the European tradition, Chantal moved to NYC to study and develop her career as an internationally performing soloist and chamber musician. She successfully founded her own music festival in Fivizzano, Tuscany, and is a member of the Global Leaders community-building program. Now that the pandemic has turned the world upside down, Chantal has returned to her hometown in Italy, where she is making a new start.

[Season 1: Episode 4]

0:00:00 Intro 0:02:16 What’s Life Like in Italy Right Now? 0:03:42 Growing Up in Italy 0:06:32 Moving to NYC 0:08:14 Studying Classical Music in the U.S. vs. Europe 0:12:28 Teaching Piano 0:15:00 What Drives You 0:17:30 Becoming an Event Organizer 0:19:55 The Global Leaders Program 0:23:58 Moving During a Pandemic 0:30:26 Is There Anything Positive Coming Out of the Pandemic? 0:35:44 Advice for Young Artists 0:38:58 Future Plans and Projects 0:42:39 Gender Dynamics in the U.S. vs. Europe 0:49:32 Lunigiana International Music Festival

[Lunigiana International Music Festival] 👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lunigianamus... 👉 Website: http://www.lunigianamusicfestival.com 👉Instagram: @lunigianamusicfestival

[Chantal Balestri] 👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chantal.bale... 👉 Website: www.chantalbalestri.com 👉 Instagram: @chantal_balestri

[The Piano Pod] 👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePianoPodNYC/ 👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFJ... 👉 Instagram: @ the_piano_pod 👉 Twitter: @ PodPiano 📣 The audio-only version will also be available at https://soundcloud.com/the-piano-pod. ✏️ Please leave us feedback in the comments or email us at thepianopodnyc@gmail.com.

The goals of The Piano Pod are to examine the traditions of the piano and help expand what it is capable of in the modern era. To this end, each month we interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting new ground in the industry.