THE ELBPHILHARMONIE AS A GUEST OF STEINWAY & SONS

The Elbphilharmonie's concert programmes are diverse. This time guests of the Elbphilharmonie Plus series were invited to Steinway & Sons.

After an exciting tour of the factory, visitors were able to see and hear what usually happens behind closed doors in an intimate concert setting surrounded by workbenches:

The first meeting of pianist and instrument before the concert. This is where the quest for perfection in tuning, sound and touch begins. Because every pianist has different preferences in precisely these attributes. The piano technicians are always ready to realise these ideas in detail before the concert.

On this special evening at the Steinway & Sons factory, pianist Yulianna Avdeeva and Steinway concert technician Simon Rempe showed how the interaction between pianist, concert technician and instrument works and the detailed work that goes into the perfect preparation of a grand piano.

“As a pianist, I am dependent on my instrument because it is my voice,” says Yulianna Avdeeva on this evening. It is then the concert technicians' job to ensure that this voice is cared for and shines in the best possible conditions.

Because when the concert begins, the pianist should be able to sing freely on her Steinway.

The concert was musically framed by Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor op. posth. BI 49 and Franz Liszt's Légende No. 2 S 175 “St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots”, wonderfully played by Yulianna Avdeeva.