My idea of cultural mecca is the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. It’s has a spectacular old world lobby and is just steps away from the Art Institute and Symphony Hall. I took advantage of it’s proximity to the latter tonight and attended a performance (under Bernard Haitink) of Webern Im Sommerwind, Mahler Ruckert Lieder (with Christianne Stotijn) and Brahms Symphony Number 1. To an orchestral music lover, this is a multi-course meal at a fabulous restaurant. One comes away content  on a number of levels, marveling at the display of mastery that one has just witnessed. And, ultimately, the only thing one takes away is a memory. The Webern was the biggest surprise. A huge romantic tone poem from the master of modernist  miniatures. I will use this piece, in addition to Schoenberg’s Gurralieder and Transfigured Night as proof that one needs to have complete mastery of the current

I’m trying to reach the others, the ones who haven’t discovered their personal connection with classical (serious) music.  Is it possible that my deliberate choice of the previous words might offend some people? Hopefully,  because my point is;  how can you question whether or not a higher power exists after one has experienced Beethoven, Brahms, Bartok or Shostokovich? The purpose of music is to communicate emotion, in a non-verbal and therefore a more pure way. Mahler said one of his Ruckert Lieder should convey “the way one feels in the presence of a beloved being of whom one is completely sure without a single word needing to be spoken”.  Maybe that’s too sappy for some, but if the concept of music expressing this detailed an emotion is new to you…LISTEN UP!! You have no idea what you are missing!

There was some recent news that seems to be universally misunderstood. The Bosendorfer factory in Wiener Neustadt is NOT moving. However, our administrative offices, currently on Graf Starhemberggasse in Vienna ARE moving to the factory in Wiener Neustadt. The Graf Starhemberggasse facility used to the be the factory but now is mostly empty. The consolidation of space makes perfect business sense. The Salon on Bosendorferstrasse, in the back of the Musikverien will remain our primary presence in Vienna.

So, let’s pretend there is this prospect, a guy who  has been pestering dealers up and down the east coast for a couple of weeks. He doesn’t play, is relocating and well to do, looking to buy a piano for his family and wants to buy something good. He started looking for a used Steinway because he knew that was what he should get, right? Well, let’s pretend that a skilled dealer delivered his “epiphany”, namely that there are wonderful high end pianos in the world and none of them are built in Queens!  Now lets say the problem is that he has (remember, we’re pretending) a very incorrect notion of what these instruments cost and is beating up every dealer trying to buy one of these instruments ( a very specific model) below cost. Seems he’s a big shot financier and, well, you probably know the type. I’m very

Heresy I know but I wouldn’t have even thought about it unless I saw it. A very good FOB (friend of Bosendorfer) donated a model 225 to an important music department in the Midwest. However he specified that instead of black it be polished pyramid mahogany. As you can see this finish is beautiful and dramatic and quite different from the plain satin black most people are used to.  Now this is just my opinion and I am very very biased but I thought that mahogany piano on that stage was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen! It was so unexpected but fit so well, it had to be right!! What do you think?

Saw a model 200, about 30+ years old, rebuilt by a reputable shop. The original Schwander action had new Renner whippens. The hammers were Renner blues, the bass strings probably Mapes.  While overall the work was of reputable quality, it was a long way from Bosendorfer and had this strange burnt orange, thick lumpy finish on the plate. The real question is, what is it? I would argue that it is not a Bosendorfer anymore since so many of the parts were not original. This flies in the face of common rebuilder philosphy, at least here in the US. This approach comes from the experience with American Steinway which says that a good rebuilder can actually make a piano BETTER than the original. The issue is that assumptions made about one make of piano do not translate directly to another and most of the tweaks that people would take for

This is a great article about the surge in music majors at colleges and universities in the US. The best quote is a young music major: “My parents knew I wouldn’t be happy without music.” There a couple of other great quotes: At Oberlin, “we teach entrepreneurship, how to start an LLC, tax law,” said dean David Stull. Added Indiana University music admissions director Townsend Plant: “Music students—we’ve seen for a long time—exhibit a remarkable set of transferable skills which can be applied to many careers. … They are good at collaborating and building consensus, they’re great at public speaking, they have drive and focus that comes from a real desire to master something. And that’s a remarkable collection of traits that make you successful in many fields. This is music to my…oh, never mind.

I’m a big fan of Schiff. Terrifically thoughtful and sensitive pianist with very clear ideas of what he is looking for. Can’t really argue with that. AND, he stays away from all the big barn burner Romantic warhorses. Thank you…no really, thank you. Andras and I used to be friendly a while ago (well, about 25 years ago) when I was a technician preparing a number of concert pianos for him.I got a chance to see up close his very individual approach to interpretation.  As are most musicians at this level, he was warm and funny as heck.

David Andersen is a very interesting high end piano technician in Los Angeles. I attended one of his tuning seminars at the PTG convention in Rochester. Very very interesting, holistic approach to life as well as tuning. Here is his blog, one of the few I have found by high end piano technicians.