What makes a pianist "classically trained"?

Question

I'm attending school now for a Music degree with a concentration in Piano. My professor uses the "Classical" repertoire (including Baroque, Classical, 20th Century, Romantic, etc. Era music) for my private piano lessons.

So, does this make me a "classically trained" pianist? I've always wondered if only pianists who attend a music conservatory type school can be considered "classically trained".

Answer 1

You said it yourself...you took "classical"...think about which composers and what pieces you played there.....

Answer 2

Just about any formal training you get at a university or conservatory can be lumped into two broad groups: classical and jazz.

The majority of music as we (Americans) know it is based in the Western Classical Tradition (WCT for this post) of music, but that's a whole other topic in it's own right.

The eras you mention in your post are basically all the periods in music (WCT) that ever existed, which stands to reason you'll be classically trained by studying pieces by those period's composers with the technique required to play them.

I think you're just thinking about it too hard.

Answer 3

"classically trained" is what you are.  You were trained to read and play, using classical repertoire.  Other options are "jazz trained", etc.