Erasmus+ Staff Mobility: Jörg LEICHTFRIED, Jazz Piano Masterclass at ESMAE Porto as part of an Erasmus+ Staff Mobility
Erasmus+ Staff Mobility: Jörg LEICHTFRIED, Jazz Piano Masterclass at ESMAE Porto as part of an Erasmus+ Staff Mobility
As part of an Erasmus+ Staff Mobility for Teaching, Jörg Leichtfried, jazz pianist and lecturer at the JAM MUSIC LAB Private University and the Friedrich Gulda School of Music Vienna, held a two-day Jazz Piano Masterclass at ESMAE – Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo in Porto on 20 and 21 November 2025.
The mobility was excellently organised by ESMAE and supported on site by Prof. Hugo Manuel Raro Andrade, who provided highly professional and collegial assistance throughout the stay. Prior to the visit, an academic exchange with Prof. Daniel Do Rosário Rodrigues Bernardes offered valuable insights into the students’ performance level, enabling a well-focused preparation of the masterclass.
Structure and Content of the Masterclass
The two-day programme combined group teaching and individual coaching:
- Day 1: A 90-minute group session on solo-piano interpretation of standards and originals in Modern Jazz
- Day 2: Seven hours of one-to-one tuition with seven jazz piano students
The artistic focus centred on modern solo piano concepts, including the multifaceted role of the left hand, rhythmic stability and flexibility, contrapuntal motion, harmonisation, inner voice leading, as well as phrasing and articulation. As supplementary material, Jörg Leichtfried provided his manuscript “Harmonic and Rhythmic Possibilities – Patterns for the Left Hand” free of charge.
Excellent Collaboration and European Exchange
The students at ESMAE demonstrated remarkable motivation, openness and artistic curiosity. Thanks to the outstanding cooperation with the faculty on site, the masterclass was carried out with great success.
Erasmus+ teaching mobilities such as this one play an important role in strengthening European collaboration, fostering artistic exchange and further advancing the internationalisation efforts of the JAM MUSIC LAB Private University and the Friedrich Gulda School of Music Vienna.
