MARCH 2021

Spirio SPOTLIGHT

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF POP CLASSICS, LESSER-KNOWN COLE PORTER, STEINWAY IMMORTAL GINA BACHAUER, AND CHOPIN’S BIRTHDAY

STEINWAY & SONS SPIRIO, the world’s finest high resolution player piano, celebrates the 50th anniversary of a trio of classic-rock songs, uniquely engineered by STEINWAY to match the spirit of the original tunes. John Lennon’s “Imagine”, released in 1971, has become a universal anthem for peace. The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”, released the same year, is a landmark rock anthem, inspired by trends in classical music, namely from minimalist composer Terry O’Riley. Released just four years later, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”, rocketed the artist to fame and ultimately iconic success.

We also offer a second volume of Cole Porter works, here focused on rarities, including “Why Shouldn’t I?”, “At Long Last Love” and “C’est Magnifique”, all performed by Earl Rose, the beloved pianist of the famous Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle in New York City.

Our SPIRIOSYNC video features the SPIRIO debut of STEINWAY IMMORTAL Gina Bachauer (1913–1976). A student of Cortot and Rachmaninov, Bachauer was one of the great pianists of the 20th century. She performs a Scriabin Prelude that we have recreated from a television broadcast in 1968.

Klara Min performs more of the Op. 11 Preludes in a new playlist this month. Additionally, César Franck's Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, a work that recalls J.S. Bach and looks forward to Debussy and Ravel, is performed by Antonio Pompa-Baldi.

This month marks the birthday of the most famous composer of piano music, Frédéric Chopin, whom we celebrate with a new playlist of favorites, including a new performance of the Ballade No. 1 by Jenny Lin.