• Concentrated daily piano master classes with Prof. Jura Margulis in an encouraging atmosphere.
• Every participant will receive 4 lessons and access to all events, lectures, publications, excursions, and tickets to the PianoFest.
• Languages: English, German, Russian
  

• The unforgettable ambiance of the Historic Kaufhaus concert hall in a 15th century building on Freiburg’s medieval Central Square.

• A seminar examining the systematic development of virtuoso piano technique.
• Cancelled due to illness: Lecture on early keyboard technique based on formal composition models with Prof. Dr. Ludwig Holtmeier, Musikhochschule Freiburg and Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Basel.
• A survey of pianistic traditions from Beethoven through Czerny to Liszt.
• Distribution of a compendium of etudes and exercises drawn from rare historical material made exclusively for participants of the IPA08.
• Individual lessons in which various methods are applied to the participants’ repertoire.

• Special Guest Artist: Malcolm Bilson.
• Professor Bilson will perform a recital on a forte-piano from the F. Neumeyer Collection, give a workshop on notation in Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, and teach individual students.

• A seminar examining historical keyboard instruments.
• Excursion to the Fritz Neumeyer Collection of Historical Keyboard Instruments at the Schloss Bad Krozingen and presentation of more than 30 playable keyboard instruments from the 15th to the 19th centuries, with Christoph Kern, curator of the Fritz Neumeyer Collection and Instrument Builder.
• Lecture on understanding Urtext editions in relation to the capabilities of the instruments of the time period and their relevance to contemporary piano performance.
• Individual lesson time on historic instruments that match the time period of the participants’ repertoire.

• Demonstration of unique Welte-Mignon recordings on one of the last functional piano-roll instruments.
• The Welte-Mignon company was founded in 1872 and attracted such artists as Claude Debussy, Camille Saint-Saëns, Alexander Scriabin, Max Reger, Edvard Grieg, George Gershwin, Ignacy Paderewski, and Ferruccio Busoni to make piano-roll recordings in Freiburg, the company’s headquarters.

• Info-workshop with an associate of a major concert agency.
• Lecture and individual consultation with Mr. Andreas Vierziger, an associate at Mark Stephan Buhl Artists Management, Vienna.
  
• Distribution of information packet concerning career strategies made exclusively for participants of the IPA08.
  

• Numerous public performance opportunities for all participants throughout the IPA08.
• All active participants have the opportunity to perform in front of a wide audience in many public recitals in and around Freiburg, including the City Hall of Bad Krozingen, the Dommusikschule, and the Kaisersaal of the Historic Kaufhaus. 
• At the end of the first week, participants enjoy a trip to the Black Forest, where they perform a concert and enjoy an invitational banquet. 
• In the second week, participants enjoy a trip to Bad Krozingen, where they perform a concert and enjoy an invitational dinner. 
• Two recitals in Freiburg are followed by receptions and the opportunity to visit with the audience.

• The PianoFest, a prestigious concert series.
• Since 1986 a recital series has taken place in parallel with the master classes. Over the years, many artists including Martha Argerich, Dmitry Bashkirov, Elizabeth Leonskaja, Vitaly Margulis, Bella Davidovich, Bernd Glemser, Igor Kamenz, Boris Bloch, Kirill Gerstein, Ingrid Fliter, Polina Leschenko, and Awadagin Pratt have performed in this series. The final concert of the participants is also the final concert of the PianoFest concert series.

• 7/14, 8:15 PM, Opening Recital, Jura Margulis
  Program: Schubert, Liszt
• 7/17, 8:15 PM, Recital, Lilya Zilberstein
  Program: Brahms, Mussorgsky
• 7/19, 8:15 PM, Recital, Malcolm Bilson (on forte-piano)
  Program: Mozart, Beethoven
• 7/23, 8:15 PM, Special Recital, Vitaly Margulis - Benefit for the Freiburg Cathedral
  Program: Chopin, Skriabin
• 7/26, 7:00 PM, Final Recital of the participants of the IKA08

• Download the PianoFest Programm as a PDF
  

• An audience-vote competition at the final participants’ recital:
• At the end of the master class, all participants perform in a recital at which the audience votes for their favorites to receive cash prizes worth €1200.