Get ready for our next episode of The Piano Pod: The Embodied Pianist with Elena Riu — pianist, groundbreaking recording artist, educator, and yoga/mindfulness teacher. In this powerful conversation, we explore embodied performance, somatics, breath, creativity, cultural identity, and even the menstrual cycle as a source of artistic insight. Elena’s work challenges long-held assumptions about what pianists should play, how they should train, and how the body shapes sound. In this episode, Elena and I talk about: ✅ Her journey from Venezuela to the UK — and how navigating multiple identities shaped her artistry ✅ The creation of Salsa Nueva and the importance of commissioning new works ✅ What it means to challenge 19th-century biases about repertoire and artistic identity ✅ Her work as an embodied pianist and how somatics, breath, and movement transform playing ✅ Collaboration with dancers, visual artists, poets, and composers ✅ Why she opens taboo conversations like creativity and the menstrual cycle among biologically female performers 🎬 Set a reminder for the premiere tomorrow at 8 pm ET: https://youtu.be/exIQxYGbQw8 🎧 Prefer audio? Listen to the audio episode (Spotify, Apple, Amazon & more) available tomorrow, November 18 at 8:00pm ET: https://rss.com/podcasts/the-piano-pod/ 📝 Read my full review of Elena’s groundbreaking album Salsa Nueva on Substack #ThePianoPod #Season6 #ElenaRiu #EmbodiedPianist #SalsaNueva #LatinAmericanMusic #NewMusic #ContemporaryPiano #SteinwayArtist #WomenInMusic #Somatics #MusiciansHealth #ClassicalMusicReimagined
