Maira Liliestedt was a prizewinner in numerous student competitions in her native Romania before moving to the United States in 1992. Liliestedt received a Bachelor of Music in piano from Bowling Green State University and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she studied with Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff.

A professor emeritus of music at the University of Mount Union, Liliestedt previously taught at Northern Kentucky University, the College of Mount Saint Joseph, and in the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s evening program. She has been published in Clavier magazine and has served as panelist and presenter for the Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy conference. She has presented at local, district, and state conferences including the Ohio MTA and Texas MTA conventions. Her professional experience also includes masterclasses and chamber music coaching with James Tocco and Emanuel Ax.  

At the University of Mount Union, she was a significant force behind the re-establishment of Solo con Tutti, the University of Mount Union/Alliance Symphony Orchestra concerto competition, and served as the organizer of the event. She is an active adjudicator for festivals and competitions in the area and abroad. Liliestedt is a past Chair of the Middle East District of the Ohio Music Teachers’ Association and past Co-President of the Stark County Music Teachers’ Association. She also served on the planning committee for the 2016 Ohio Music Teachers’ Association State Conference.  

Since 1996, she has been a member of the Appassionata Piano Duo, a successful musical partnership with pianist Janelle Phinney. Critic Tom Wachunas described the duo’s playing as “a warm and deft joining of palpable grace with flawless, often fiery technique,” displaying a “riveting, lucid finesse alternately muscular and delicate.” The ensemble has garnered praise for its “wonderful ensemble, balance, and unity of purpose,” and its “terrific collaboration full of grace and passion.” (Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff, Professors Emeriti, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music). In addition to numerous academic awards, Liliestedt has twice been the recipient of the prestigious Presser Music Award.

As a pianist, Liliestedt has been a prizewinner in solo piano and collaborative competitions at the high school, collegiate, and graduate levels, and maintains a regular schedule of solo, chamber, and concerto performances. Her interpretations of the Liszt First Piano Concerto were received enthusiastically; in conductor Eric Benjamin’s words: “hearing Maira Liliestedt play [this concerto] is like watching an Indy race driver take the car out for a spin.” Liliestedt has presented solo and violin/piano recitals at many universities in the Midwest and abroad, as well as duo and solo concerto performances. Other engagements include solo recitals featuring Bach’s B-flat Major Partita and the Liszt B Minor Sonata, orchestral collaboration on Saint-Saëns’s Second Piano Concerto and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Appassionata Piano Duo work on Brahms’s complete Hungarian Dances. Her main 2021 project was preparing Chopin’s Concerto in E Minor for fall 2021 performances. Watch a video series documenting her learning journey to the performances! Recent performances showcased orchestral work on Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, Brahms’s Hungarian Dances and Schubert’s F Minor Fantasy in collaboration with pianist Janelle Phinney, soprano and pianist Laura Mason, and violin/piano programs with violinists Emily Cornelius and Bohdan Subchak.

Her first published book was released in early 2025 by Innovative Ink Publishing: Piano TEACHeR: Teaching through Emotional Awareness, Content, and Human Relationships.

An active pedagogue, Liliestedt maintains her instructional agility teaching students of various ages and abilities in her Keys to Artistry Piano Studio in Canton, Ohio. The growing studio has expanded offerings in music history, theory, and repertoire in addition to piano lessons, and offers multiple performance opportunities for its students. 2024-2025 has brought about the debut of the Keys to Artistry Concert Series, consisting of an array of professional and advanced student concerts in the tradition of the nineteenth-century’s Schubertiades, hosted in an intimate house setting. These unique events offer vibrant music-making and social interaction in the best tradition of social musical events of the past, aiming to appeal to the immediacy of musical and human communication in an increasingly disjointed world. More information at www.keystoartistry.com.

Babadjanian, Arno

• Bilder for piano

• Poem

Bach, Johann Sebastian

• English Suite in g minor

• Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825

• Prelude and Fugue III in C-sharp Major, WTC I

• Prelude and Fugue V in D Major, WTC I

• Prelude and Fugue XVI in g minor, WTC I

• Prelude and Fugue in D Major, WTC II, BWV 874

• Prelude and Fugue in d minor, WTC II, BWV 875

Baltin, Alexander  

• Sonatina

Barber, Samuel

• Nocturne

• Sonata for Piano Op. 26

• Souvenirs for Two Pianos

Bartok, Bela                                        

• Romanian Folk Dances

• Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion

Beethoven, Ludwig van                        

• Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major

• Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 5 No. 1

• Sonata Op. 10 No. 2 in F Major

• Sonata Op. 13, “Pathetique” in c minor

• Sonata Op. 14 No. 2 in G Major

• Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 24, "Spring"

• Sonata Op. 31 No. 2, “Tempest” in d minor

• Sonata Op. 31 No. 3 in E-Flat Major

• Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 47, "Kreutzer"

• Sonata Op. 57, “Appassionata"

• Sonata Op. 79 in G Major

• 32 variations in c minor

Bernstein, Leonard                              

• West Side Story Suite (arr. for two pianos by John Musto)

Bolcom, William

• Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano

Brahms, Johannes

• Hungarian Dances for four hands                                

• Hungarian Dance No. 1 for solo piano

• Intermezzo Op. 118, no. 6 in e-flat minor

• Rhapsody Op. 79, No. 2 in g minor

• Trio for horn, violin, and piano Op. 40 in E-Flat Major

• Variations on a theme of Robert Schumann, Op. 9

•  Waltz in G-sharp minor, Op. 39, No. 3

Chopin, Frederic                                 

• Ballade No. 1 Op. 23 in g minor

• Berceuse in D-flat Major, Op. 57

• Bolero Op. 19

• Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11

• Etude Op. 10 No. 4 in c-sharp minor

• Etude Op. 10 No. 12 in c minor “Revolutionary”

• Etude Op. 25 No. 1 in A-Flat Major

• Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2 in D-Flat Major

• Nocturne Op. 37 No. 1 in g minor

• Nocturne in c-sharp minor, Op. Posthumous

• Piano Trio in G minor

• Polonaise Op. 40 No. 2 in A Major “Military”

• Sonata No. 2 Op. 35 in b-flat minor “Funeral March”

• Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor

• Waltz in e minor (Posthumous)

Copland, Aaron    

• Passacaglia

Debussy, Claude                                 

• Claire de lune from Suite bergamasque

• La cathedrale engloutie and Minstrels from Preludes, Book I

Enescu, George                                   

• Prelude in f-sharp minor

• Suite No. 2 in D Major

Gershwin, George

• Rhapsody in Blue

Ginastera, Alberto                               

• Danzas argentinas

Grieg, Edvard                                      

• Piano Concerto Op. 16 in a minor

• Wedding Day at Troldhaugen

Haydn, Joseph    

• Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 25, “Gypsy”

• Sonata in F Major (Hob. 23)

• Sonata in G Major (Hob. 40)

• Sonata in C Major (Hob. 50)

• Sonata in E-Flat Major (Hob. 52)

Jensen, Carl                                         

• Etude No. 20 in c minor

Kabalevski, Dimitri                              

• Rondo in a minor

Lecuona, Ernesto                                 

• Danzas Afro-Cubanas (Nos. 1, 3, 6)

Liszt, Franz                                          

• Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major

• Liebestraume (Notturno III) in A-Flat Major

• Sonata in b minor

• Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, in E-Flat Major

• Paganini Etudes

  • No. 3 – “La Campanella” in g-sharp minor

  • No. 5 in E Major

• Totentanz for piano and orchestra

• Transcendental Etudes

  • No. 11 – “Harmonies du Soir” in D-flat Major

• No. 8 – “Wilde Jagd” in c minor

Lutoslawski, Witold                             

• Paganini Variations for two pianos

MacDowell, Edward                           

• Etude Op. 46 No. 2, “Moto Perpetuo” in A-Flat Major

• Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 23 in d minor

• Witches’ Dance, Op. 17 No. 2

Madsen, Trygve                                  

• Sonata for Horn and Piano

Mendelssohn, Felix                              

• Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14 in E Major

• Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, “Italian” (arr. for two pianos, eight hands by Theodor Kirchner)

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus                

• Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466

• Fantasy K. 397 in d minor

• Sonata K. 331 in A Major

• Sonata K. 333 in B-Flat Major

• Sonata K. 448 in D Major for two pianos

• Sonata K. 457 in c minor

• Sonata K. 570 in B-Flat Major

• 10 Variations on an air by Charles W. Gluck K. 455 in G Major

Oyster, Allyson M.

• Sola Rosa

Paladi, Radu                                        

• Rondo a capriccio in C Major

Piazzolla, Astor                                    

• Histoire du Tango

  • No. 1 – Bordel 1900

  • No. 2 – Café 1930

• No. 3 – Night Club 1960

Poulenc, Francis                                  

• Elegie in alternating chords

Prokofiev, Sergei                                 

• Etude Op. 2, No. 4 in c minor

• Piano Concerto No. 3 Op. 26 in C Major

• Sonata No. 3 Op. 28 in a minor

• Sonata No. 6 Op. 82

Rachmaninoff, Sergei                           

• Concerto No. 2 Op. 18 in c minor

• Etude-Tableau in d minor, Op. 33, No. 5

• Etude-Tableau in f-sharp minor, Op. 39 No. 3

• Etude-Tableau in a minor, Op. 39 No. 6

• arrangement of “Flight of the Bumbleebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov

• Moment Musical in e minor, Op. 16, No. 4

• Prelude in B-flat Major, Op. 23, No. 2

• Prelude in D Major, Op. 23, No. 4

• Prelude in C Minor, Op. 23, No. 7

• Prelude in G-sharp Minor, Op. 32, No. 12

• Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 19

• Suite No. 2, Op. 17, for two pianos

Rameau, Jean-Philippe                         

• Gavotte and Variations

Ravel, Maurice                                    

• Sonatine

Saint-Saens, Camille                            

• Carnaval des Animaux for two pianos and orchestra

• Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor

Scarlatti, Domenico                             

• Sonata in d minor

• Sonata in E Major

Schubert, Franz                                   

• Fantasie in f minor for piano four-hands

• Impromptu Op. 90 No. 2 in E-Flat Major

• Impromptu Op. 142 No. 3 in B-Flat Major

• Moment Musical in F Minor, Op. 94, No. 3

• Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Op. 137, No. 1

• Sonata D. 958 in c minor

Schumann, Robert                               

• Des Abends and Grillen from Phantasiestucke Op. 12

Scriabin, Alexander                             

• Etude Op. 2 No. 1 in c-sharp minor

Shostakovich, Dmitri                            

• Prelude and Fugue in D minor, No. 24

• Sonata for Cello and Piano

• Waltz No. 2 from the Suite for Variety Orchestra (1956), arr. Florian Noack

Silvestri, Constantin                             

• Baccanale

Sinding, Christian                                 

• Suite Op. 10 in a minor for Violin and Piano

Stravinsky, Igor                                   

• Concerto for two solo pianos (1935)

Wilder, Alec                                        

• Sonata No. 1 for Horn and Piano

Wolk, Henning

• Amazing Grace in the Style of W. A. Mozart

about Maira's pianism

• Since 1996, she has been a member of the Appassionata Piano Duo, a successful musical partnership with pianist Janelle Phinney. Critic Tom Wachunas described the duo’s playing as “a warm and deft joining of palpable grace with flawless, often fiery technique,” displaying a “riveting, lucid finesse alternately muscular and delicate.” The ensemble has garnered praise for its “wonderful ensemble, balance, and unity of purpose,” and its “terrific collaboration full of grace and passion.” (Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff, world-renowned pianists).

• In conductor Eric Benjamin’s words: “hearing Maira Liliestedt play [the Liszt E-flat Piano Concerto] is like watching an Indy race driver take the car out for a spin.”

• "Heartfelt thanks again for your beautiful and brilliant recital…What a joy to hear such profound music performed with an equal dosage of artistry, conviction, and passion—a powerful elixir, indeed! Thanks for elevating us all! - choral director Dr. Grant Cook, regarding a cello/piano recital with cellist Dr. Elaine Anderson

• "What a spellbinding performance! What an audience reaction! - Dr. Elaine Anderson, cellist, regarding a performance of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto

• “It has been a long time since I have been moved to tears... I realized that I just haven’t had the opportunity to witness such passion in so long. Not only are you a brilliant pianist…but your heart is behind it all and it pours into your performance. You reminded me why we musicians do what we do…your recital was a real blessing." - Jessica Weber, voice and piano instructor

• “Extremely impressive! … stunning performance last evening!" - Dr. Elaine Anderson

• “Your performance was stunning! The dynamic control and execution was outstanding (and I have heard ... [many pianists]. I was totally immersed in the emotion of your playing" - Mark Shengle, certified Steinway piano technician

•  “{Liliestedt} ... played the Liszt Sonata ... Her performance was one of the finest I [have] ever heard." - Peter Coraggio, Professor Emeritus of piano at the University of Hawaii.

about Maira's teaching

• "Piano lessons at the Keys to Artistry Studio have been one of the very best things we have ever done for our children. Dr. Liliestedt is an amazing teacher with high expectations. She creatively teaches each child how they learn best so they can meet those expectations, which has caused them to genuinely love to play the piano. Our children, however, are learning much more than how to play the piano well; they are also learning many beneficial life skills and attitudes because of the love Dr. Liliestedt speaks into each child every week. We are truly blessed to have her in our children's lives." - Dr. Kevin and Hope Hill, parents of two current Keys to Artistry young students.

• "As a piano tuner in our area working for institutions, orchestras, the Steinway company, and private clients, I have a unique prospective when it comes to hearing comments on piano teachers from parents and other professional piano educators in our area. The actual teachers never hear the comments I do! I can honestly say that parents often comment on the accelerated progress of their son/daughter and the students' significantly increased enjoyment of piano lessons because of the individual connection that Maira has made with the student. I also know many other fine piano teachers in the area that will recommend Maira when assistance is needed in over coming specific issues in a student's musical endeavors. I believe that the benefits of studying in Maira's studio make both the time and financial cost well worth it." - Mark Shengle, certified Steinway piano technician and piano tuner for the Cleveland Orchestra, Canton Symphony, and Youngstown Symphony.

• "Dr. Liliestedt has been a superb piano instructor for our son. Through her thoughtful and kind guidance, she has helped him to enhance his love of music with the musical maturity and performance skills to be able to confidently pursue a musical career if he should desire it. Under her tutelage, he was able to take honors in competitions, be accepted to two summer piano institutes, and prepare an hour-long recital program so that he would have repertoire ready for college auditions. Whether he pursues music as a profession or as an avocation, his studies with Dr. Liliestedt have fostered in him a love of music and level of performance confidence that will serve him well, whatever path he should take. Dr. Liliestedt brings a wonderful combination of professionalism and kindness to her teaching." - Tiffany Gravlee, parent of former Liliestedt high-school student

• "Maira is the wonderful combination of a talented musician and intuitive teacher. Studying with her took my playing to a level of maturity that I did not previously believe I could attain. In lessons she works with you to not only identify what can be improved but how to execute this and why it is important. It has been my experience that the how and why are marks of a truly thorough instrument study and enable a student to take ownership of his or her playing. Furthermore, she helps you develop not only your fingers and mind, but also your ear so that you are able to identify new and different nuances of playing yourself. Maira helped me develop a skill set that has allowed me to grow as a pianist, musician, and person long after lessons with her have finished." - Laura (Jurasko) Mason, former Liliestedt university student

To inquire about the Keys to Artistry piano studio or engage Maira's services as pianist,
email maira@keystoartistry.com, call
(330) 456-0275, or fill out our contact form.