Testimonials

Expert piano instructor in Woking

Elena Krivenko Piano Tuition offers private piano lessons for students of all ages and levels. For further details, give me a call today.
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Testimonials

Isobel Waller-Bridge is a British composer who is known for her scores for film, television, and theatre (War and Peace, Fleabag, Vanity Fair, Black Mirror) along with her works in electronic music and contemporary classical music. 


Here she is sharing her memories of her piano studies with Elena Krivenko, aka Mrs Lee.


This is a part of her interview for the  Philharmonia Orchestra  which you can watch  here.

 “Our family moved in to this country in the autumn from Hong Kong four years ago. At that
time my second daughter had been preparing for ABRSM Grade 7 piano examination and
anticipated to sit for the exam in the autumn term. We were very lucky we managed to find
Ms Krivenko and receive her immediate help to take up the half-done job to continue
preparing my daughter for the exam that would take place in two months.
It has been four years since then and so far, my daughter has achieved Grade 7 and 8 with
distinctions, and has obtained her ARSM diploma with a perfect score. Through Ms
Krivenko’s guidance, she has also found success in numerous festivals, competitions,
recitals and concerts.
Ms Krivenko is an outstanding piano teacher. She is inspiring, encouraging, and unique in
her own way. She cultivates technique and musicality at the same time, not sacrificing one
for the other. Always placing great emphasis on detail, she is dedicated both in and out of
lessons and attentive to each individual. As well as teaching my second daughter, she has
taught my three other children, tailoring her lessons to each of their personalities.
Without Ms Krivenko, my children would not be the musicians they are today. I am very
grateful for all that she has done to help them develop and grow, both musically and as people.” 
–Mrs Kwok



“Dear Miss Krivenko, I would like to thank you in writing for such an excellent 4 years of
piano playing. Your teaching has been truly inspirational and has really changed my
approach to the instrument, to music and indeed to life itself.” 
–Benjamin

“Dear Elena, we would like to thank you so much for all the help and support you have given
Charlie with his piano and the inspiration too! Very best.” 
–Annette and Peter

“Thank you very much for the concert you organised last week. I really enjoyed playing and
was very inspired by your playing.” 
–Ellie

“Dear Miss Krivenko,
The term is coming to an end, and I just want to thank you for teaching me the last two
years, it’s been so fruitful and I’ll really miss having lessons with you.
You’ve not only been a great piano teacher, but a great friend as well. Thanks for
encouraging me all the time. I must say taking part in the leaver’s concert was one of my
best experiences here at St. Catherine’s. I’ve built up confidence in myself, I’ve learnt a lot
and seen improvement in myself through sharing music with my friends, All of this won’t
happen without your guidance.”
–Shanice



“My son David has been studying under Elena’s careful instruction for several years now and
continues to make great progress, recently achieving his Grade 8 with Merit. She provides
structured yet motivational lessons and offers encouragement and support. Her
musicianship is of the highest quality both as a teacher and as a performer and she
transmits her dedication and passion for music to her pupils. Allowing them to work at their
own pace and to develop their own personal style, she encourages them to look beyond
what is written on the page. A calm and encouraging teacher, Elena nurtures a strong
appreciation of music in her pupils and her flexible approach accommodates different
learning styles and abilities, which allows for all round development. Her techniques for sight
reading, scales and practising have really clicked with David enabling him to tackle some
challenging repertoire, all of which Elena performs beautifully with the utmost ease. She is a
truly inspirational musician. I would have no hesitation in recommending Elena to you.”
-Mary Robinson



“My two daughters, Jessica and Christina, began taking piano lessons, from Miss Elena
Krivenko three years ago when they were six-and-a-half and nearly five years old
respectively. We have been very pleased and impressed with their progress, and it has been
a thoroughly enjoyable experience for both of them.
Both girls find Elena kind and patient, and they seem to easily understand her methods of
teaching and the way in which she explains how to make small changes in their approach to
playing various pieces of music.
At the beginning, I was a little concerned about Christina’s age and the extreme difference in
the two girls’ personalities. Jessica is very intense and stubborn, and Christina is very
carefree and easy-going. I find that one of Elena’s biggest strengths is working with each
child as an individual and taking the time to get to know each child’s personality. As a result,
she has moved my daughters at comfortable although different paces and chosen certain
pieces which suit their individual personalities and capabilities.
Elena’s success with my daughters is obvious through exam results. Although she is only
nine and has been taking piano lessons for just three years, Jessica will sit for her grade 4
exam towards the end of the year. She received a pass with merit for Grade 1 and pass with
distinction for both grades 2 and 3 (despite taking these two exams just four months apart).
Christina, at age 7, will take her grade 1 exam towards the end of this year.
My daughter’s attend Hoe Bridge School in Old Woking, and now they are both at
preparatory level, they were offered the chance to take lessons within school, in part
because the teacher knows how well they play and would like to have the opportunity to
teach them. Although it would be much easier to have them take piano lessons within the
school day rather than on Saturday afternoons, both Jessica and Christina insisted that they
continue with Elena. They enjoy her so much as a teacher and as a person.”
-Carla Welsh



“Elena Krivenko has taught my daughter the piano for the past 6 years, from Grade 5 at age
11 to Diploma level at age 17. She is an exceptionally fine teacher with high standards who
has the abilityto draw the best from her pupils, who want to work hard for her. I believe that
her success in helping them to achieve their potential lies to a great extent in her sensitivity
to their emotional as well as their technical development, which is so important during the
adolescent years. Through her holistic approach, she has nurtured in our daughter a
confidence to express herself through her music that has proved extremely valuable. Whilst
encouraging steady progress from one grade to the next, there has been plenty of time for
exploration of other material, discussion and finding pieces to suit Rachel at any given time.
Our daughter describes her has “inspiring”.
It was through Miss Krivenko that Rachel had the experience of performing in public for the
Egham & District Music Club (“Rosemary” by Frank Bridge), also at the Yehudi Menuhin
School at a platform concert (“Wedding Day at Troldhaugen” by Grieg, and “Toccata in E,
BWM914” by Bach) and won the School Music Competition in 2001 when she played the
finale from “Sonatine” by Ravel. She has also performed one of Rachmaninov’s Preludes in
concert, and is currently working on 4 “Visions Fugitives” by Prokofiev.
For over a year now, Rachel has been performing her pieces in public from memory, which
has been very beneficial in building self-esteem and confidence.
We are indeed very lucky to have had the benefit of Miss Krivenko’s teaching, support and
friendship for Rachel over the years and would recommend her highly to future music
students.”
-Katie M Broady



“I heard Miss Krivenko comparatively recently when she played a very varied programme to
me. I was struck not only by her outstanding technical command but also by her instinctive
grasp of the music and wide spectrum of styles. She also has an enquiring mind and is
obviously interested in discussing the structure, both intellectually and emotionally, of the
works she plays, and I can unhesitatingly recommend her to you.”
-Peter Katin



“I first learnt to play the piano aged 7, progressing through Choir School over the following 6
years to Grade 6 standard, although the piano was still relatively unimportant to me.
I began lessons with Mrs. Krivenko aged 13. Her experience as a graduate of the Moscow
Conservatoire, superb musician, human understanding, inspiration and enthusiasm for
teaching have been lasting benefit since then.
Within a year I had passed Grade XIII and won the school piano for two consecutive years
(with Khachaturian’s ‘Toccata’ & Debussy’s Feu d’Artifice’ – I also began to study Grieg’s
‘Piano Concerto in A minor’), which I am certain I would not have achieved without Mrs
Krivenko’s tutorship: She has remarkable insight of her students’ musicianship, ambitions
and life desires, is attentive to detail, open-minded, fair, generous in spirit and is an
extremely skilful communicator. I could not have wished for a more holistic teaching and
learning experience.
I am now a student of philosophy at Pembroke College, Cambridge, having switched from
Natural Sciences, the course I started there, and the piano has continued to play a very
important role in my life: In 1999, I passed the Guildhall Piano Performance Diploma, and
performed Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Reading Symphony Orchestra a few months
later, having won the opportunity at a Berkshire regional young musicians’ competition
playing Scriabine’s 4th piano sonata. Once again, I am indebted to Mrs. Krivenko for all of
her abilities and for the good guidance she gave.
I have an uncertain few years ahead of me. I may go to music school, I may not. But I do
know that I can be sure of Mrs. Krivenko’s considered (and considerate) advice if I need it,
whatever direction I choose to go in, and certainly if it involves the piano. Also, I can be sure
that the piano will always be important to me, for which I have largely to thank Mrs Krivenko.
She is an exceptionally good teacher.” 
-Aaron Webber



“Our daughter, Catherine, was a piano student of Elena Krivenko for five years, during which
time she achieved Grade 8 at the age of 14. This was a very successful period of our
daughter’s musical life.
As a result of her musical tuition by Ms Krivenko, Catherine entered and won several
competitions, including winning not only the piano section of the ‘Ascot Young Musician of
the Year’ competition twice, but also being declared the overall Competition winner on these
two occasions (junior & senior). It was this success as ‘Ascot Young Musician of the Year’
that encouraged Catherine to compete for and gain a major music Scholarship to Wellington
College as a Sixth Form pupil.
Elena Krivenko is a very caring teacher as well as an outstanding performer in her own right,
and taught Catherine to master pre-performance ‘nerves’ in a most constructive and sensible
way. She encourages musical and personal confidence, public performance, and all round
musicality.
We have no hesitation in recommending this outstanding Pianist and Teacher.”
-V M Marshall

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