Marcel Zidani studied Piano, under the direction of Royal Academy Vice-Principal Mark Racz and more recently under the guidance of Professor Philip Martin studying both piano and composition. Marcel is currently on the Oxford University Piano Teaching Panel.
In June 2017 Marcel won 2nd prize in the European Piano Teachers Composer Competition for his composition for piano - ‘The Clock' and in 2015 the famous pianist Leslie Howard nominated Marcel’s composition ‘Butterflies’ for the British Composer Awards, describing the music from his Life Cycle CD as, ‘an excellent piece, beautifully written for the piano’. Katie Derham of BBC Radio 3 recently said of ‘Butterflies’ ‘what a beautiful piece’ and Alistair McGowan chose Marcel’s CD as one of his desert island discs.
Marcel's music is played quite frequently heard on radio stations including BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, Radio Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and more. Andrew Marston of Radio Hereford and Worcester said 'Outstanding, complex and beautiful – simply put, the most incredible piano player I’ve ever seen'. Marcel's composition ‘The Clock’ is featured in the November 2017 edition of BBC Music Magazine.
Marcel works frequently with the string members of the Bochmann Trio occasionally partnering with Michael Bochmann and he has recently joined viola player Carol Hubel-Allen as Duo Karadys for all UK concerts. Marcel recently gave a lecture to the year 3 and MMus pedagogy students at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on the subject of Piano Teaching and the business of Piano Teaching. ABRSM commissioned Marcel to write work for the Piano Star series and consider him one of the leading UK composers of educational music.
Marcel is the author of ‘Hey Presto’ a unique and fully comprehensive, piano method for older beginners and adults, which focuses on the use of the sustain pedal to achieve a rewarding sound straight away. This book is unique in that it teaches the use of pedal from the very first lesson, which helps to create an exquisite, and engaging sound right away. The book is complete with piano pedagogy including legato technique, wrist and hand flexibility, injury prevention, sustain pedal and much more. Highly recommended by ABRSM consultant Andrew Eales, Epta and Pianist Magazine, Marcel’s piece ‘Momentum’ within the book has been selected as a set work for the Dulwich Competitive Piano Festival in London June 2018.
His CD “Piano in the Small Hours”, featured on BBC Radio 3, is the result of improvised sessions. Radio 3 described Marcel as a ‘Musical Gem’ and likened his compositional style to that of Chopin, Liszt and Satie. Marcel has performed extensively at music festivals throughout the UK, as well as giving concerts locally and in the Midlands. In May 2018 Marcel performed and recorded live his compositions at Hay festival in conjunction with BBC Hereford and Worcester. He has given masterclasses, adjudicated for music competitions including the Birmingham Conservatoire and is a devoted piano teacher. Many of Marcel’s students have won Young Musician competitions and other prizes.
‘The Sunday Times’ described the performance of compositions from his CD titled ‘A New Renaissance’ as ‘an explosion of expressive tonal colours’. His performance of Beethoven Sonata ‘The Tempest’ and Liszt’s ‘Un Sospiro’ received equal critical acclaim.
You can listen to Marcel’s recordings, read reviews and view performances on his website and on Youtube.
In June 2017 Marcel won 2nd prize in the European Piano Teachers Composer Competition for his composition for piano - ‘The Clock' and in 2015 the famous pianist Leslie Howard nominated Marcel’s composition ‘Butterflies’ for the British Composer Awards, describing the music from his Life Cycle CD as, ‘an excellent piece, beautifully written for the piano’. Katie Derham of BBC Radio 3 recently said of ‘Butterflies’ ‘what a beautiful piece’ and Alistair McGowan chose Marcel’s CD as one of his desert island discs.
Marcel's music is played quite frequently heard on radio stations including BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, Radio Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and more. Andrew Marston of Radio Hereford and Worcester said 'Outstanding, complex and beautiful – simply put, the most incredible piano player I’ve ever seen'. Marcel's composition ‘The Clock’ is featured in the November 2017 edition of BBC Music Magazine.
Marcel works frequently with the string members of the Bochmann Trio occasionally partnering with Michael Bochmann and he has recently joined viola player Carol Hubel-Allen as Duo Karadys for all UK concerts. Marcel recently gave a lecture to the year 3 and MMus pedagogy students at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on the subject of Piano Teaching and the business of Piano Teaching. ABRSM commissioned Marcel to write work for the Piano Star series and consider him one of the leading UK composers of educational music.
Marcel is the author of ‘Hey Presto’ a unique and fully comprehensive, piano method for older beginners and adults, which focuses on the use of the sustain pedal to achieve a rewarding sound straight away. This book is unique in that it teaches the use of pedal from the very first lesson, which helps to create an exquisite, and engaging sound right away. The book is complete with piano pedagogy including legato technique, wrist and hand flexibility, injury prevention, sustain pedal and much more. Highly recommended by ABRSM consultant Andrew Eales, Epta and Pianist Magazine, Marcel’s piece ‘Momentum’ within the book has been selected as a set work for the Dulwich Competitive Piano Festival in London June 2018.
His CD “Piano in the Small Hours”, featured on BBC Radio 3, is the result of improvised sessions. Radio 3 described Marcel as a ‘Musical Gem’ and likened his compositional style to that of Chopin, Liszt and Satie. Marcel has performed extensively at music festivals throughout the UK, as well as giving concerts locally and in the Midlands. In May 2018 Marcel performed and recorded live his compositions at Hay festival in conjunction with BBC Hereford and Worcester. He has given masterclasses, adjudicated for music competitions including the Birmingham Conservatoire and is a devoted piano teacher. Many of Marcel’s students have won Young Musician competitions and other prizes.
‘The Sunday Times’ described the performance of compositions from his CD titled ‘A New Renaissance’ as ‘an explosion of expressive tonal colours’. His performance of Beethoven Sonata ‘The Tempest’ and Liszt’s ‘Un Sospiro’ received equal critical acclaim.
You can listen to Marcel’s recordings, read reviews and view performances on his website and on Youtube.