“Chopin said that the wrists are the pianist's lungs. So develop the movement in your wrists, that is your breathing,” says Marina Izman. She has just told her audience, mostly piano players themselves, how happy she is as the daughter of two math lecturers at a Moldavian university to have this opportunity to teach at a technical university. Her pupils today are two Mathematics and Computer Science students, Jan Heemstra (20) and Jan-Pieter Rooij (23).

Jan-Pieter plays a piece by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. “This Choros 5 is a reasonably difficult piece and has an unusual style. I learned it about four years ago and have since played it occasionally during performances,” he said beforehand. Izman compliments him on his soft touch in the first - calm - part. She asks whether he has any difficulty with the middle section that must be played very loudly. “What emotions suit this fortissimo?” “Agitation and anger,” Jan-Pieter thinks, and he must play the piece again. Now focusing on his right hand. “Give your wrist freedom, hold it as low as your fingertips and articulate with your fingers,” are her final tips.

Wearing a white T-shirt, Jan Heemstra slides into place at the TU/e piano after the break. “You see, it's been agreed that if I wear this T-shirt, I will get one of the eight stamps you need to join Gepwnage, one of the clubs of the GEWIS study association,” Jan said in the break about his lack of a jacket. He started playing piano as soon as he could reach the keys and has taken lessons since he was seven.

For Mariana Izman he plays Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 7, which he has been practicing for the past three years. Izman refers to it as a ‘nerve-racking’ piece - “even I could hardly breathe” - with a striking rhythm that crackles with the rhetoric of war. “You played very nicely, but still your wrist was a little high. You mustn't hit the keys with your fingers but release the sound from the keys. That it almost impossible, but keep practicing.”

Mariana Izman, who herself has won prestigious awards and currently teaches piano in London, gives enthusiastic and friendly feedback to Jan and Jan-Pieter. According to Jan-Pieter, now and then ESMG Quadrivium holds events specially for its piano members “because we have fewer opportunities to perform than members who play an orchestral instrument or sing in a choir. The idea for this master class was borne out of a discussion between Studium Generale and the secretary of Quadrivium, Jeroen Korsten.”