5-day Advanced Summer School with Florian Mitrea – WAITING LIST

Advanced pianists have the amazing opportunity to spend five days learning from and being inspired by the inimitable Florian Mitrea this summer. Below, he describes his plan for the Advanced Summer School 2026 – for advanced pianists beyond grade 8, preparing for – or at – diploma standard, or higher.

Our 5-day courses are a well established highlight of the Finchcocks calendar. To ensure a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, places are open to those who have attended at least one weekend Finchcocks course previously.

“The advanced 5-day course provides us with the ideal framework to explore music-making in all its aspects. It gives us the necessary time to discuss issues regarding the role of technique, touch, phrasing, and sound production, from both historic and contemporary perspectives. It also provides the opportunity to experiment with these in several performances, either in a masterclass setting or in the various informal concerts, with a goal to finding your own fresh voice with the music that you are playing.

I will always listen to your own response to each piece and match my artistic suggestions with possible technical means to achieve them, not in a prescriptive way, but rather in a manner that will give you options, which you can then explore during your practice and reach a final interpretative decision. With the already well-established format that includes masterclasses, as well as interactive workshops and individual lessons, I am looking forward to spending these days with you talking music all day long, sharing what makes us all so passionate about it.”

Like our weekend courses, formal tuition takes place in workshops, performance classes and one-to-one lessons.

1: Unlocking Sound Colours. Touch, Tone, and Timbre
This workshop explores how pianists can shape sound through touch, pedalling, and voicing, creating a vast palette of colours at the keyboard. We will look at examples from composers like Debussy, Chopin, and Ravel to understand how timbre contributes to interpretation. Through guided exercises, participants will experiment with different tonal colours and discover how subtle changes in technique can alter the musical character. The session will encourage pianists to move beyond just loud and soft, aiming instead for expressive nuance.

2: The Art of Practicing. Strategies of the Great Pianists
Effective practice is an art in itself, and this workshop introduces strategies used by legendary pianists such as Cortot and Argerich. We will examine practical methods like slow practice, rhythm variations, and chunking, as well as insights from neuroscience on skill acquisition. Participants will experiment with rebuilding difficult passages using these approaches and share practice solutions with peers. The goal is to leave with a toolkit of techniques that make practice more efficient, creative, and rewarding.

3: Composer Spotlight. Discovering Beethoven’s language
Beethoven’s piano works represent a bold, philosophical departure from convention, full of harmonic daring and rhythmic freedom. In this workshop, we will examine the distinctive qualities of his style, focusing on decoding his notation, as a basis for understanding almost all later composers (the Romantics and beyond). We will engage in a discussion about individuality in performance. Participants will also try a few excerpts at the piano to feel the radical textures and gestures in their hands.

 4: The Fugue as Playground
Far from being dry or academic, fugues can be imaginative, playful, and deeply expressive. This workshop traces the fugue from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier to Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues, highlighting its evolution and challenges. Together, we will analyse a fugue subject, explore how voices interact, and even perform excerpts in a duet arrangement to actually ‘embody’ the counterpoint.

5: Pedalling beyond the Damper Pedal
The pedal is often called the piano’s ‘soul’, yet many pianists underuse or overuse its expressive potential. In this workshop, we will explore the art of pedalling, from ‘traditional’ damper pedalling to techniques such as half-pedalling, flutter pedalling, ‘sostenuto’ pedalling and ‘una corda’ effects. Through examples from composers such as Chopin, Ravel, and Liszt, we will look at how composers hint at pedalling choices and how pianists can go beyond the score. Interactive exercises will invite participants to compare passages with different pedalling solutions, experiment with subtle colour changes, and develop a more refined ear for resonance. The goal is to make pedalling not an afterthought, but an integral part of interpretation.

As usual, everyone will have access to their own grand piano for the week including our new Steinway, and have plenty of time to practise in our vaulted piano cellar.

We’ll also have a bit of fun! We’ll explore the private gardens at Finchcocks, experience a local wine tasting, be able to go for beautiful Kentish countryside walks to Scotney castle and enjoy a session or two in the family’s new heated swimming pool, weather permitting.

And of course, it goes without saying that you can expect the usual!

Guests will:

• Have the chance to play in and observe multiple performance masterclasses.
• Will receive one-to-one lessons with Florian.
• Enjoy access to play on our 9 grand pianos anytime between 7am and 8pm. (There are enough pianos to go round that everyone can play a piano at any given time.)
• Experience a salon-style concert performed by Florian exclusively for guests.
• Have the chance to take part in a recital on the Bosendorfer in the main hall of the family home.
• Join and socialise with a group 8 fellow piano enthusiasts during lunch and dinner.
• Dine in style with lunches and three course dinners prepared by our fabulous chef.
• Experience the Finchcocks bubble, hailed as a “paradise for pianists” by BBC Music Magazine and stay in a grade 1 listed country manor.

Plus ones are very welcome on our courses, with a room surcharge dependant on whether they are a playing or non-playing guest. Please ask for further details.

This is a unique, luxury UK-based piano gem and an experience that you won’t forget anytime soon. Many guests continue friendships made on these courses, encouraging each other on in the piano playing on Whatsapp, organising private piano meet ups further down the line… and bumping into each other again on future courses!

For booking enquiries, please fill in the form below.