Berlin

HÖRSAAL BOXHAGENER STRAβE, BERLIN, FEBRUARY 5-8

This institute takes place in a studio a couple of subway stops from Alexanderplatz. The fine Fazioli B at our disposal is courtesy of Tomas Bächli, our gracious host. Tomas will be away for these four days, but we are grateful for his hospitality! Matt Rubenstein, who teaches out of the studio adjacent to Tomas', will be present and is our onsite liason. Practice rooms may be rented in a piano store not too distant, and hopefully we will take our meals together at some of the colourful restaurants that dot the neighbourhood.

Book this very special institute in one of the key culture capitals of Europe... to improve your piano playing, brush up on your teaching skills, and take in the concerts, the museums, the nightlife!

And remember, if you can't make this institute please do sign up for our newsletter to receive scheduling updates for future institutes as they arise.

Open to All Interested Pianists

Do you feel you are not advanced enough to attend? Not well-enough prepared? Don't worry; Alan welcomes all, no matter what your ability, no matter what the state of your program. The Institute really is open to all interested pianists:

• students who wish to improve their sound and agility
• amateurs who wish to feel more in command of the instrument
• teachers who want new ways of teaching technique to their students
• professionals who wish to hone their skills to the highest possible level.

There is no limit to improvement!

Somatics for String Players, Other Instrumentalists & Vocalists

Alan Fraser works extensively with string players, exploring the physical details of their posture while they play to transform their sound and their sense of ease. Though many string players have excellent posture, the quality of movement within the posture can often be improved.

String players are welcome at this institute, as are wind instrumentalists and vocalists. For more information visit our page on Alan's work with instrumentalists and vocalists. Your sonority, your agility, and your sense of ease and freedom from tension will improve dramatically with Alan's Performance Somatics approach. There is no limit to improvement!

Schedule

Structure of the Day

The institute is a mixture of

• Individual piano lessons
• Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons done on the floor
• Fraser Awareness Through Piano Movement lessons zerooing in on participants' hands and bodies.

Alan composes the ATPMs each day according to the technical issues raised in that day's individual lessons.

Opening & Closing Sessions

On the first morning we come together over coffee to meet and discuss our goals for the week - coffee and donuts at 8:30, opening session at 9. A closing session and debriefing is held at the conclusion of the institute on the last day.

Partial Attendance

Partial attendance is completely acceptable. Even if you attend the full four days, you are not obliged to take four lessons. You can tailor-make your participation to your own needs at registration.

The schedule may be modified according to the makeup and needs of the group.

You are free to attend the entire day or take a break from watching the lessons to rest or do a little bit of practicing. Each entire session is recorded and offered to you free of charge for future reference.

Seminar Subject Material

The Seminar Focus Is Determined By You

The question period in each seminar is a chance to take the discussion in a whole new direction. For instance, the conversation could veer towards one of the topics below covered in a past institute. Which of these topics is of special concern to you? Make note of it, and make sure you bring it up with Alan in a seminar.

Travel

Getting There

The Institute will take place at
Boxhagener Str. 16
10245 Berlin

Take the U-Bahn (subway) line U5, to Frankfurter Tor station.

Walk over to Boxhagener Strasse, and between numbers 15 and 16 on the street, enter the passageway. If the gate is locked, ring the doorbell for T. Baechli and wait to be buzzed in. Then walk all the way through to the back. This means not the first courtyard...

not the second courtyard...

but the third courtyard.

When you get to the third courtyard, do not turn immediately right to enter the main building.

Keep walking past that entrance, even farther towards the back. On the right you will immediately see a low building with some windows but no door - that's the piano studio.

Still keep walking; turn right, and circle around the back of the piano studio where you'll find the entrance.

Practice Rooms

Practice rooms can be rented by the hour for a very reasonable price at PianoRooms, also not too far from Alexanderplatz.
The exact address is Friedrichstraße 130, 10117 Berlin, in der Dreispitzpassage.

Accommodation

Lodging

There are many hotels in Berlin, all easily available at Booking.com. Airbnb is also an option.

MEALS

There are many restaurants within walking distance of the studio.

Register

Fees & Registration

We have a brand new registration procedure which completely bypasses the old payment table which you still see below. Register for active and/or passive participation on our new BERLIN INSTITUTE REGISTRATION PAGE .

The active participation fee covers the following activities:

• daily individual lesson
• daily group ATM lesson
• daily group ATPM lesson
• daily seminar lecture
• observation of all other lessons

The passive participation fee covers full participation in all activities but with no individual lesson.

Our new signup procedure combines active & passive days as you wish.

This payment table is no longer responsive: To register, click on the link immediately below the table.

Register for the Berlin Alan Fraser Piano Somatics Institute

Discounts

We offer discounts for

• students up to 25 years of age (20%)
• those in reduced financial circumstances (by agreement)

To receive your discount, register at the full price and then contact Nina Nikolich, letting her know your status. You will receive the appropriate refund on your initial payment.

Before & After the Institute

Information Sheet & Followup Questionnaire

After registering, please return here to fill out the REGISTRATION QUESTIONNAIRE.

After you have completed your institute, please come back to fill out this FOLLOWUP QUESTIONNAIRE. This helps us evaluate your experience, tailor your ongoing regime to facilitate further progress, and fine-tune the structure of future institutes to better meet participants' needs.

Video Recordings

INSTITUTE LESSON RECORDINGS

All lessons are video recorded (unless the participant requests otherwise), and are stored at

PianoTechniqe.org: the pianist's netflix.

If you are not already an active member at PianoTechniqe.org, to watch your lessons you must first subscribe. We run our piano somatics video library more or less on the Netflix model: your initial subscription fee gives you automatic access to

• our main library with 1300+ lesson videos
• over 85 tutorial series curated especially for pianotechnique.org
• your own personal library where all your lesson videos can be gathered in one place - making the study process even more convenient and rewarding.

As every lesson is packed full of information and experience, the review process offers a valuable chance for further progress, more breakthroughs - deeper learning.

Separate from the Institute registration fee

Access to all this, and to the recordings of the Ahun 2026 institute, is included in the initial pt.org subscription fee which is separate from your institute registration fee.

Contact

About Us - Contact

ALAN FRASER

Canadian pianist Alan Fraser gives master classes and recitals worldwide and conducts ongoing research and refinement on the ideas put forth in his books

• The Craft of Piano Playing (also in DVD),
• Honing the Pianistic Self-Image,
• All Thumbs: Well-Coordinated Piano Technique Skeletal Wisdom: Mind & Body Reunited in the Feldenkrais Method Pianimals, the world's first piano method based on the Feldenkrais Method and Piano Somatics, and most recently Play the Piano with Your Whole Self

He is at work on several new volumes. Visit here for more on Alan Fraser.

If you would like to discuss your participation in an institute directly with Alan, feel free to send him an email.

MATT RUBENSTEIN

Pianist and pedagogue Matt Rubenstein is an American pianist and teacher who has been active in the Berlin clasical music scene for many years and has recorded several acclained CD's of new piano music. He teaches piano privately in Berlin and is the organizer of the Berlin Alan Fraser Piano Institute.

Contact Matt Rubenstein.

Our host Tomas Baechli writes....

Being a musician is not just a profession for me, but a way of life. That means music is present in my consciousness, even when I'm not playing the piano or listening to music.

As a pianist, I am responsible not only for the performance of music, but also for which music I play. The most important freedom of the performer lies in choosing from the enormous repertoire for piano. Like any freedom, this is also a challenge, since a single lifetime is not enough to learn even the most significant works.

Compositions from the last hundred years occupy a central place in my repertoire. Evaluations of this period are still ongoing – entire eras, such as Russian Futurism, seem to emerge from nowhere. The canon of established works can only remain vibrant if it is constantly expanded and transformed.

Over the past thirty years, I have premiered many works. However, if a composition truly convinces me, I don't want to leave it at just the premiere. Many pieces by living composers deserve to be performed just as frequently as the well-known works from the traditional repertoire.

Cancellation Policy

If you must cancel your registration, reimbursement will be as follows:
Cancellations more than two months before Institute opening date: 100% reimbursement.
Cancellations more than one month before Institute opening date: 75% reimbursement.
Cancellations more than two weeks before Institute opening date: 50% reimbursement.
Cancellations more than one week before Institute opening date: 25% reimbursement.
Cancellations less than one week before Institute opening date: no reimbursement.
We reserve the right to cancel the institute due to insufficient enrolment; in this event, all registration fees are fully refundable.