“It’s very hard to explain with words how grateful I am to Mr. Shihor for the past 4 years studying with him. His unconditional belief in the student’s abilities and his commitment to make the most of those abilities no matter what it takes. Often he believed in me more than I did myself, and kept demanding and encouraging the highest level in pieces without exception. He can justify that belief because he knows how to make that potential a reality through extraordinary attention to detail, ear and musical intuition. The most remarkable thing which I’ve noticed, however, is his ability to point out exactly the things that I need but that I’m not yet hearing in the music, to let that piece develop to a next level that I could not imagine before the lesson, and that sometimes I was not even aiming for to start with, because I didn’t know it was possible for me. I just didn’t know how to reach that level and he helped me every time without fail. If I look back to those 4 years in a bigger scale I can see how much Mr. Shihor has helped me find and develop my technique, my ear and my musical and pianistic personality.”