An inspiring role model

With her death at the beginning of December 2022, we not only said goodbye to a great musician and pianist, but also to an extraordinary woman who had been a meaningful person for countless people on their own journey through life. Eva Serman's passion for music went hand in hand with a deep reverence for life, an awareness of the uniqueness of every person and a palpable gratitude for the gift and task of being able to dedicate her life to music and people.

Born in Keszthely/Hungary in 1937, she began her piano studies in Budapest and continued with Hubert Harry at the Lucerne Conservatory after emigrating to Switzerland in 1958. She taught piano and chamber music there for 40 years from 1963. She also trained pianists through the Swiss Music Pedagogical Association, was involved in the board, was responsible for the classification of piano literature for the level examinations and was a sought-after expert. She was also a regular member of the jury at competitions, including the Swiss Youth Music Competition.

Eva Serman cultivated a broad pianistic and chamber music repertoire and was always keen to explore and grasp a wide variety of musical genres in greater depth. She had a special love for historical keyboard instruments. On these as well as on the modern grand piano, she was a confident teacher and concert pianist, including at the Lucerne International Music Festival.

Eva Serman was a competent and committed teacher and pianist for her students. In addition, she had the gift of not only seeing pianistic abilities in the person opposite her, but also perceiving them with the various facets of their humanity. She was a valuable support for many in the university, an inspiring musician and a person to whom we will remain grateful beyond her death.