BSD Magazin 2012 En

1 |

BÖSENDORFER

Interview Paul Badura-Skoda

The Mind of Beethoven

The Imperial Grand

The magazine by Bösendorfer Austria N0. 7 | 2012

Postage paid | Publisher’s post office: 1010 ViennaL. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH, Bösendorferstraße 12, A-1010 Wien, [email protected], www.boesendorfer.com | If undeliverable, please return to sender

| 2

B Ö S E N D O R F E R – The magazine by Bösendorfer Austria

Having been honoured with the Merit Award in Gold of the Province of Vienna, Yamaha Cor-poration Director and Managing Executive Officer Hiroo Okabe attended an award ceremony held at Vienna City Hall, Austria, on May 30.

Director Okabe Receives Merit Award in Gold of the Province of Vienna

A w a r d

This award recognizes Mr. Okabe’s contribution to preserv-ing and improving the Viennese Sound with the in-depth

understanding he has for Viennese culture and music. From the early 1970s, at the request of the Vienna Philharmonic Or-chestra, Yamaha Corporation assisted in the development of special Viennese instruments, the manufacture and supply of which continue to this day. Since 2008, Yamaha has par-ticipated in the management at L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH and supported the handing down of traditional piano manufacturing techniques. Mr. Okabe was deeply involved in all these developments, as both an engineer and senior executive. At the award ceremony, a congratulatory speech by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra President Clemens Hells-berg was followed by Mr. Okabe expressing his appreciation: “I would like to share this prestigious award with my elders and betters as well as my colleagues.”

On June 18, a press conference on Mr. Okabe’s receipt of the award was held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club

of Japan in Tokyo, which was attended by around 80 people, including members of the Japanese and foreign media and people connected with Bösendorfer and the Österreichisch-Japanische Gesellschaft (Austria-Japan Society). In his pres-entation, Mr. Okabe touched on Yamaha’s attitude toward craftsmanship and stated his determination to preserve the traditional Viennese Sound in the years to come. After the press conference, a mini-concert was held, and Yamaha Art-ist Chiharu Sudo gave a performance on a limited edition Bösendorfer model that commemorates the 150th anniver-sary of the artist Gustav Klimt’s birth.

Vienna’s Executive City Councillor for Cultural Affairs and Science, Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, with Mr. Okabe at the award cere-mony.

Phot

o: H

arri

Man

nsbe

rger

3 |3 |

E D I T O R I A L

Contents

Dear Reader,

Editorial

I am now in my second year as Managing Director of Bösendor-

fer. It has been a very busy time. We have expanded our standard range by the addition of a 155 grand piano and a new 120 up-right. Both models have received excellent reviews and increase the choice for those seeking to experi-ence our wonderful Bösendorfer sound.In addition to these models we introduced new limited edi-tion models for those collectors amongst our customers, and for those looking for a special cabinet design. 2011 saw the Liszt anniversary model, 2012 the Klimt. 2013 (our 185th anni-versary year) will see more exciting creations.

Quality is a journey not a destination and we continue to focus on ensuring we make the best possible pianos.

Our 214 model has had a successful internal redesign that has significantly opened up the mid treble area.

We continue to focus on expanding our markets and this year we exhibited at the Shanghai music show for the

first time. Apart from Europe and North America we see in-creased activity in many other markets.

I hope that you enjoy this issue – there are interviews with two dramatically different Bösendorfer Artists – Paul Badu-

ra Skoda, the holder of the Bösendorfer ring, who enjoyed his 85th birthday performing on a Bösendorfer 290 in the Beijing Forbidden City Concert Hall – and the German singer-song-writer, Konstantin Wecker.

There is a wide range of other articles we hope you find interesting – for example one on Beethoven‘s mind by

American Peter Takacs (who recently recorded all 32 piano sonatas on a Bösendorfer). There is also manufacturing in-formation about our flagship 290 model and our new 120; references from some important institutions, and various news items from around the world about our activities and successes.

Viel Freude,

Brian Kemble, MBE MAManaging Director

Imprint · Editor, media proprietor, publisher: L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH, Bösendorferstraße 12, A-1010 Vienna, Tel. 01.504.66.51-0 · Design and layout: FineStudios e. U., Wien. Produced and printed in Austria. Distribution: self-distribution to Bösendorfer friends and interested parties. Editorial office address: L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH, Attn.: Monika Frank, Gymels-dorfergasse 42, A-2700 Wr. Neustadt. Senior editor: Monika Frank, Simon Oss. Authors: Marion Alexander, Ferdinand Bräu, Kwang Rae Cho, Corporate Communication Div. Yamaha Corp., Anne-Sophie Desrez, Prof. Martin Hughes, Brian Kemble, Mitsuyoshi Kimura, Dominique Meyer, Simon Oss, Pressezentrum Porsche Museum, Prof. Michael Schäfer, Daniela Seeber, Yoshi Suzuki, Pimwadee Wakama, Markus Walther. Photos: Archiv Hochschule für Musik u. Theater München, Archiv Mari Sato, Ufuk Arslan, Guan Changxin, Christoph Edtmayer/Arnold Schönberg Center, Stephen Frak, Rudi Gigler/SalzkammergutFestwochen Gmunden, Mitsuyoshi Kimura, Metha Kosolsathit, Harri Mannsberger, Michael Maritsch, Martin Moravek, David M. Peters, Michael Pöhn/Wr.Staatsoper, Jones Rosen, Peter von Seherr-Thoss, John Seyfried, Rupert Steiner, Yoshi Suzuki. Cover: David M. Peters. Translation: Albert Frantz. Primary direction and disclosure accord-ing to media law: Magazine for persons interested in music and friends of Bösendorfer in Austria. Errata and printing errors, etc., including price quotations, excepted. No liability is assumed for unsolicited pictures and manuscripts submitted. Reprints permitted exclusively upon written consent of the publisher. All rights reserved. Contributions marked by name present the author’s opinion, not always that of the publisher. No legal action will be countenanced for sweepstakes.

Director Okabe Receives Merit Award in Gold ........................... 2Editorial · Imprint ................................................................................... 31000 Concerts with Bösendorfer ..................................................... 4The First Bösendorfer Festival in Thailand ................................... 6Art M Concerts ........................................................................................ 6 Valentina Lisitsa at the Royal Albert Hall ..................................... 7New Concert Hall for the Vienna Boys’ Choir ............................. 7 Paul Badura-Skoda – Insights and Recollections ....................... 8The Mind of Beethoven ..................................................................... 10Testimonials ............................................................................................ 12

Celebrating 40 Years of Porsche Design ...................................... 13Tradition Meets the Future: Bösendorfer at Google ............... 13Factory: The Imperial Grand ............................................................ 14New Bösendorfer Model 120 ........................................................... 16The World of Flower Artist Shogo Kariyazaki ............................ 1719th International Johannes Brahms Competition .................. 18In Conversation with Maestro Zubin Mehta ............................ 18Celebrating 25 Years of the Salzkammergut Festwochen Gmunden ..................................... 19Attersee Klassik 2012 ........................................................................... 19

| 4


I n t e r v i e w

BÖSENDORFER: You’ve been well-known for many years – de-cades even – and famous for your grotesque innuendos and for cheering people up through your songwriting art. What were your greatest or most moving incidents in your life?Konstantin Wecker: The concerts. What moves me the most are of course the live concerts. Above all there was beauty. Of course, the people I got to meet were also moving. I accom-panied Harry Belafonte, toured with Mercedes Sosa and Joan Baez, and played with Mikis Theodorakis. There were simply a few tremendous musicians and authors whom I had the privilege to get to know. I once summed it up in a book, Mei-ne rebellischen Freunde (My Rebellious Friends). These people also reassured me time and again anytime I thought I had had it with rebellion, that I don’t like it anymore (laughing).

BÖSENDORFER: What role does the piano play for you as a singer-songwriter and composer?Konstantin Wecker: That is very interesting, because the pia-no is my instrument after all. I began playing the piano at the age of five and studied with Gitti Pirner at the Munich Aca-demy of Music (Musikhochschule München) – up to age 19. I had written songs and poems, composed an awful lot, and as a child had already set the Eichendorff texts to music in the style of Schubert and Schumann. I then got the idea to sing my own songs. At first I played them on the guitar, which was idiotic because I can’t really play guitar well, but I thought that’s how it had to be. And then I heard Georg Kreisler! The thought then came to me: Why am I so stupid, and why not do this on the piano? I was thus the first singer-songwriter in Germany who sang and set words to music at the piano and not the guitar. For me, the piano is a life partner. While composing – I’m not among those composers who compose purely from their mind – I have to get inspired from playing the piano, even for film music and such things as musicals and theatre music. I’ve done a lot of other things besides just writing my own songs.

BÖSENDORFER: You’re always seen travelling with your Bö-sendorfer grand piano. What do you like so much about this instrument?Konstantin Wecker: Since I’ve been with Bösendorfer, I’ve reached the absolute top league. I love the instrument; I’m tru-ly an avowed Bösendorfer fan. I’m crazy about the instrument. It has a form of life all its own, a certain softness or lyricism that other pianos don’t have. And getting to select my Bösen-dorfer was great. Meanwhile, I may well be the Bösendorfer Artist who has given the most concerts on a Bösendorfer grand. I once did the maths: For about fifteen years, I’ve per-formed about 80 concerts a year with my Bösendorfer, which comes to roughly 1000 concerts with Bösendorfer. We can call that a jubilee. Somebody ought to imitate me (laughing).

1000 Concerts with BösendorferThe singer-songwriter, composer, actor, and author, Konstantin Wecker, found time during his concert tour “Wut und Zärtlichkeit” (“Rage and Tenderness”) for an interview with Markus Walther.

BÖSENDORFER: You once mentioned that you write your songs in a Brahmsian or Schubertian style. What do you mean by that?Konstantin Wecker: No, that may have come across wrong. When composing, I orientate myself rather towards the classical lied, to Brahms and Schubert. And in many songs I perhaps have a proximity to Brahms; a musicologist also con-firmed that for me. Yet I don’t compose like other songwriters who have a melody and then write a song text to it. Some of my colleagues come from the French school, such as Rein-hard Mey – he comes from French chanson; Johannes Wa-der, like most, comes from American songwriting. Of these colleagues, I’m the only one who comes from classical music and Italian opera. This plays a major role, since my father was an opera singer and as a boy I always sang with him. I still have nearly all the female voices of Italian opera down pat (laughing). That’s why I had a cello in the beginning; that was very important to me and also unusual.... You have to imagi-ne that in the ‘70s everything was minimalistic like Johan-nes Wader, who wanted to be so minimalistic that six strings on the guitar were too many. He wanted to have only three strings, not move, and not even address the audience; only the content should count. It was an overly politicised era. And then a guy like me, with an entirely different type of pathos and music, approached people. That was already definitely unusual back then.

The singer-songwriter Konstantin Wecker – an avowed Bösen-dorfer fan.

© B

ayr. R

undf

unk

/ Ral

f Wils

chew

ski

5 |

BÖSENDORFER: In your songs you address current and critical topics. What do you wish to accomplish by doing so?Konstantin Wecker: Forty years ago, I showed up to change the world with my songs; that is the goal of every singer-songwriter. We love and live utopia, after all. But when I look at the world today... I didn’t do it; It’s not my fault... BÖSENDORFER: You’re in the middle of your concert tour “Wut und Zärtlichkeit.” You released this original album after a six-year break. Why such a long time?Konstantin Wecker: That’s a good question. Nothing signifi-cant occurred to me. For song texts, as much as playing and composing music is a pleasurable activity, writing texts is hard work. The texts have to permeate through me and also surprise me. I often have to get away for a period, until I get everything down; that’s a difficult struggle more often than not. It’s different in the case of the music. You can give me a phone book and I’ll set it to music. I’ve never had a problem with that.

BÖSENDORFER: In your songs you address political and human problems. Given so many problems, is there a meaning of life? What is it for you?Konstantin Wecker: Of course there’s a meaning of life, but I won’t give it away even if you’re expecting it so eagerly. If this meaning didn’t exist in some form... I’m not telling you be-cause I can’t express it in words. In my opinion, for a reasona-ble and intelligent person, the ultimately important things around which life revolves are where do we come from, whe-re are we going, why are we here …?The philosophical questions – these can’t be solved with the aid of thinking anyway. These can only be experienced via intuition, in mystical encounter, in mystery. As much as I am an atheist as a person of reason, as a mystic I’m entirely fraught with godliness. Hence, via non-thinking we experi-ence something of the ultimate questions, but surely not via thinking. As fascinating as this is and as much as we need thinking.... I studied philosophy for a long time, which was incredibly fun, but I had not experienced what I had hoped for before I commenced my studies. Of course, you train your mind wonderfully by studying philosophy. That’s already very good.

BÖSENDORFER: This year, you received the “Reif & Bekloppt” (“Mature & Crazy”) Prize from the Prix Pantheon Cabaret Awards. What were your initial thoughts on it?Konstantin Wecker: That they wanted to make a fool out of me. Then I found out who’s already received this prize and I thought, wow, that’s a real honour. It’s also a very good and very honourable prize. You’re right: If like me you’ve been onstage for forty years with that much maturity, if you’ve sought to change the world for forty years and all of a sud-den you notice that you can’t, you’ve got to be crazy. From that perspective, it’s an important title.

BÖSENDORFER: You sing “Human dignity is subject to finan-cing.” Human dignity is inviolable, according to German law. What is your understanding of human dignity?

Konstantin Wecker: My understanding of human dignity is that you look after refugees so that they aren’t forced to live like the poorest sods;that you stop with this Hartz IV rip-off. By human dignity I also understand that you take these psy-chopaths who are currently letting our financial system go south – and they can only be psychopaths, who speculate with foodstuffs even though millions of people are starving – that you simply forbid this from continuing. All of this is very simply expressed, yet this monstrous injustice that is looming right now, this has nothing more to do with human dignity – although we’re still doing very well in Germany and Austria. As I read yesterday in your newspaper, 78% of Aust-rians are happy and we’re also doing well in Germany. Yet in this case thinking isn’t enough: What is the price and what price do others pay? We have to start once again contempla-ting justice more.

BÖSENDORFER: You’re not only a songwriter, but also a com-poser, actor and author. What new things can we expect from you in the future?Konstantin Wecker: I hope to be able to be onstage for some time to come and to hug my audience with lots of energy.

What moves Konstantin Wecker the most: live concerts

© U

fuk

Arsl

an

| 6


I n t e r n at i o n a l

The Month of Bösendorfer, the first Bösendorfer Piano Fes-tival in Thailand, was presented on June 9–30 to promote

the perfection of Bösendorfer pianos, as well as to invite the audience to discover and appreciate the celebrated “Bösen-dorfer Sound” performed by pianists Dora Deliyska, Indhuon Srikaranonda, Artas Balakauskas and Sek Thongsuwan. The pianists were able to reveal and make more evident to the audience the dynamic range, richness and variety of tone of the instrument.A limited edition Klimt model has been played by the artists and presented on the occasion of this festival. This limited edition model was chosen in 2012 to introduce the first of the Bösendorfer “Artist Series” pianos. It was dedicated to the most famous Austria painter, and a founder of the Viennese Secessionist movement, Gustav Klimt, as it is the 150th An-niversary of his birth.The event in Thailand counted more than 1,000 guests, among whom were Thailand‘s former prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda, Joan A. Boer (Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), and Stephan Heisler (Minister-Counsellor of the Ambassador of Austria). In our age of uniformity and standardisation, the particular qualities of a phenomenon, event or person become more and more valuable. Audience and pianists enjoyed this unique festival in Thailand.

The Month of Bösendorfer, the First Bösendorfer Festival in Thailand

Dora Deliyska performing the famous “Bösendorfer Sound”

Hyundai Pharm, a Korean pharmaceutical company, holds classical music concerts every month in art galleries to

mix music and art and to lower the barrier to classical music for the general public. These concerts are also carried out as fund raising activities as the entire proceeds collected from these special concerts go to charities.A special feature of the Art M concerts is that the famous pianist and music commentator Kim Joo Young provides commentary to help the general public with better under-standing of classical music. 43 concerts have been held so far and a quickly increasing community has been established out of the audience who share their impressions about the concerts on social net-works.In addition Art M Concerts can be viewed online via a special smart-phone application called “Classic Magazine” which has been launched thanks to a cooperation between Hyun-dai Pharm and Art M Plus. It provides concert videos, photos as well as editorials.

Fund raising concert series in Seoul

Art M Concerts

Bösendorfer Model 225: Unique sound with 92 keys at Art M

Photo: Metha Kosolsathit

7 |

I n t e r n at i o n a l

Valentina Lisitsa, the virtuoso Bösendorfer artist and global Internet phenomenon (a staggering 44 million

hits makes her the most watched classical pianist in history), made her much-anticipated solo recital debut before an en-raptured audience at London’s 5,000-seater Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday 19 June. She performed on a Bösendorfer 290 Im-perial grand. Streamed live on YouTube, her two-and-a-half-hour con-cert of mainly romantic repertoire from Chopin, Liszt and Beethoven – chosen by her loyal fans themselves in an online poll – received an incredible 74,329 views during its initial live screening and subsequent extended availability as a YouTube Video On Demand, while some 6,000 comments have been posted on her YouTube channel to date. Of the Royal Albert Hall performance Albert Hewitt wrote in the UK’s Daily Telegraph “Lisitsa is a serious artist. She’d chosen a hugely taxing programme.” Her playing “often en-gendered a huge emotional charge, as in Liszt’s arrangement of Schubert’s “Erlkönig”. At the other end of the scale, the middle movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” was beautifully remote and poised, as if made from porcelain…”Brian Kemble, Managing Director of Bösendorfer was in the audience. “It was a truly dazzling performance. The re-nowned technician Gerd Finkenstein set the Bösendorfer

Imperial up brilliantly, and to hear Valentina perform in such an iconic space – home of the Promenade Concerts – and to feel the enthusiasm of the audience was a very special occa-sion for me.”For Valentina herself the occasion was “as much a celebra-tion as a concert, a gathering for friends old and new”. In addition to all her thousands of YouTube viewers, many of her most devoted fans had travelled from around the world – from as far afield as Barbados and New Zealand – to attend the concert in person.

Valentina Lisitsa at the Royal Albert Hall

Valentina Lisitsa performing at the Royal Albert Hall, London

Phot

o: S

teph

en Fr

ak

On December 9, 2012, in the Vienna Augarten, “MuTh – Vi-enna’s new venue for music and theatre” – a new and

unique venue for Vienna, as well as the Vienna Boys’ Choir’s first concert hall of their own – made its debut. With MuTh, one of the oldest and most famous children’s choirs in the world gets a permanent residence. “After about a hundred years, a concert hall is built in Vienna once again. It will be a venue for all the senses – with a fantastic acoustic, the best lines of sight from every single seat, comfortable seating and many extras,” said Elke Hesse, head of the new venue for mu-sic and theatre, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the Vienna Boys’ Choir’s training centre.

The new venue for music and theatre is an ensemble made from a Baroque basic structure and modern architecture.

With a capacity of 400 persons, the new concert hall forms the heart of the building. The large, 12 x 9 metre stage is con-nected with an optimal orchestra pit. As an instrument, a Bösendorfer Model 280 grand piano has a fixed place in the new concert hall. The Vienna Boys’ Choir’s marvellous voices are framed by the sound of this piano. However, the concert hall is not only a rehearsal and performance venue for the Vienna Boys’ Choir: MuTh considers itself to be a bridge and

connects, both in name and in its programmes, music and theatre, tradition and experiment, great artists and up-and-coming artists. After the top-flight opening with a concert by the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Vienna Philharmonic con-ducted by Franz Welser-Möst, MuTh is starting a colourful and varied first season. A new musical centre has emerged at a prominent place in Vienna.

New Concert Hall for the Vienna Boys’ Choir

Vienna’s new venue for music and theatre

Phot

o: R

uper

t Ste

iner

Vienna’s new music and theatre venue makes its debut

| 8


I n t e r v i e w

BÖSENDORFER: This year you celebrated your 85th birthday with a concert in the Forbidden City Concert Hall in China, where in 1979 you were the first Western pianist to perform after the Cultural Revolution. How did your pianistic career get started?Paul Badura-Skoda: I had my first piano lessons at the age of six. However, my youthful ambition was actually to become an engineer or scientist. During the war, when I was fifteen or sixteen, I gradually recognized my calling as a pianist and then in 1945 I attended the Konservatorium in Vienna. Paral-lel to my studies with Viola Thern, who was a kind of central figure in my life, I also studied with a Viennese phenomenon, Otto Schulhof – the classic Viennese pianist with a fabulous-ly beautiful piano tone. That was a good complement. Viola Thern was unbelievably analytical in her teaching and had a fantastic knowledge of how to strike a key correctly. I have her to thank for the fact that I have never in my life suffered from the pianist’s affliction of tendonitis. By contrast, Schul-hof was a concertizing artist who had travelled the world and was above all a specialist in the Viennese waltz, the Vien-nese rubato and the Viennese piano sound – not to mention an enthusiastic Bösendorfer player! I have him to thank for a more free way of playing the piano, which later led me to Edwin Fischer – a musician who gave me the impression that Beethoven and Mozart must have played in exactly the same way.Fischer played regularly at the Salzburg Festival. I played for him and he immediately said, “Yes, I’ll accept you for my master class.” That was in 1948 and I was 21 years old. In the meantime, I had graduated from the Konservatorium with honours and was already a pianistic hopeful in Vienna. At twenty I won first prize in the first Austrian piano competi-tion after the war.My second milestone arrived with the invention of the LP record: A legendary company, Westminster, from the United States, hired me as their main pianist.And my third milestone was when I jumped in for Edwin Fis-cher, who had fallen ill, at the Salzburg Festival. I didn’t know that Fischer had appraised me so highly and I was already looking forward to the trio concert in Salzburg in August of 1950. One week prior to the concert, a telegram came from Salzburg, saying that Fischer had fallen ill and they asked me if I could jump in. I was surprised that anyone had thought of me of all people, as I was just a young pianist. The pro-gramme was sent together with the telegram: Beethoven

Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3. No problem; it’s possible to learn that in a week. Yet the programme also included a piano trio by the Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti. Seemingly mi-raculously, I received the score to it from the Italian Cultural Institute. I studied this work like a crazy person and proudly came to Salzburg. There, I met Fischer’s long-time partner, Enrico Mainardi, a wonderful cellist with a sound to die for, a captivating personality not only at the instrument. When he heard what I had prepared he was appalled: “But that’s not our programme at all! We announced our programme change already a year ago. We’re performing the Brahms Trio!” What to do? I stood there crestfallen. Mainardi said, “You’re talented. Learn the Brahms B major Trio, Op. 8. You can do that in three days. I’ll teach you.” I thereby had excel-lent instruction from Mainardi. I learned a great deal and the concert was a major success. That was the beginning of my career.At that time, audiences were starving for classical music. That’s unimaginable today. In every country there were tre-mendous numbers of musical organisations that invited pianists to play. At the age of 24–25, I made a huge tour of Australia via the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and afterwards tours of the USA and South America. These were great experiences.I have the destruction of the war to thank for the feeling for music. Music had a mission, a constructive power, one that gave people joy and the will to live, as well as a feeling for what is important in life, what goes beyond everyday life. With this feeling I also survived the crises that everybody of course has.

BÖSENDORFER: How do you personally experience the chang-ing image and the role of the pianist from the period before the Second World War to today?Paul Badura-Skoda: There was a very strong change. The rela-tion of the pianist to the audience was marked by trust. As Furtwängler formulated, it was a love affair: “Every concert is a kind of declaration of love for the composer, the music, as well as the listener.” This wave comes back to us; it’s one of the most important of reciprocities. When we began our careers, the majority of the audience was not yet force-fed by the mass media. In order to hear a concert, you had to dress up, and back then you had to go to the concert on foot.And much more important was that there was serious musi-cal instruction in every school, which was entirely directed to

Paul Badura-Skoda, Bösendorfer Ring recipient, is one of today’s most important pianists, a legendary artist who has performed in the world’s most significant concert halls as a soloist, as well as with the most renowned orchestras and conductors. In addition to his continuing concert activities, more than 200 LPs and dozens of CD recordings – among them the com-plete piano sonata cycles of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert – bear witness to his immense musical achievements. In an interview with Simon Oss, Paul Badura-Skoda speaks about his life as a pianist, Viennese music, as well as the piano from then and now.

Paul Badura-SkodaInsights and Recollections

9 |

classical music. We were taken to operas, what a Beethoven symphony is was described to us, and we sang constantly. Formerly, people played the great works (symphonies and operas) for piano four-hands; that was quite a major culture throughout the world because you couldn’t even hear these works otherwise. The audience came full of curiosity.Nowadays, you have to lure the audience with every possible means. True, there’s still a core audience in the major cities, but it’s very difficult above all for a young artist.

BÖSENDORFER: You’ve written numerous texts about the works and the appreciation of great Viennese composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. What constitutes Vien-nese classical music? Does it have an essence?Paul Badura-Skoda: The word “classical” means the highest level of accomplishment, the highest perfection. Just as we speak of classics in literature, philosophy and the fine arts, the term “classical” was quickly chosen for the great compos-ers who were active in Vienna. Brought down to a common denominator, it’s about the deepest content with the sim-plest of means. Within classical-era music, Mozart is a cul-mination. No composer could express so much and have so much depth with so few notes.It’s something unique in the entire history of culture; it took centuries to reach this culmination.

BÖSENDORFER: What does the oft-quoted “Viennese sound” mean to you?Paul Badura-Skoda: There is indeed something that distin-guishes Viennese music making. It is the mixture of a certain mentality that was formed by our history and by the fact that Vienna was the centre of a multinational state during the monarchy. A certain balance of oppositions prevailed in Vienna. What was so special about Viennese music making was, as Mozart himself said, “Even when I depict something ugly, the music still has to be beautiful.” This principle can be found throughout all of the Viennese way of making music.And of course the Viennese waltz and Johann Strauss, the café culture, the literature, the incredible richness of dia-logue, humour and sparkling spirit are all part of being Vien-nese.

BÖSENDORFER: You predominantly play the “modern” grand piano yet are also famous as a pioneer in the use of histori-cal instruments. What significance does this have for you as a pianist?Paul Badura-Skoda: In this regard I had a revelation: private concerts by the unforgettable Isolde Ahlgrimm, who played a Bach cycle for my friend Jörg Demus and me on her harp-sichord. That was already quite a deep experience. But then, two years later, she played Mozart’s piano works on an au-thentic Mozart piano over the course of several evenings, and there you noticed that much that is problematic on the mod-ern piano – primarily the preferred lower register of the pi-ano in most compositions – sounds brighter and more trans-parent on the old instruments due to the thinner strings and thinner soundboard. In principle, it’s the same music, only with different timbres. In 1952 I noticed this for the first time

when I recorded a Mozart programme on the Anton Walter grand of the Vienna Museum of Art History and simultane-ously on a beautiful Bösendorfer grand.For me, the art of playing Schubert or Mozart, for instance, lies in the fact that it has to sound authentic on every piano. Naturally, I learned from the knowledge of these instruments to create a clear, transparent tone on modern instruments as well, even in the lowest register. Conversely, in every compo-sition there is something that goes beyond the instrument. This is very important!

BÖSENDORFER: How do you feel about piano making today?Paul Badura-Skoda: The modern piano has stood still for the last 120 years. It reached a pinnacle that – like the violin 300 years ago – can hardly be surpassed acoustically. At the same time, piano making during Mozart’s and Beethoven’s time, and Schubert’s as well, was distinguished by incredible varie-ty, the willingness to experiment, and different tonal charac-ters. The modern piano is uniform in this sense. Bösendorfer is one of the very few manufacturers of modern pianos that has not followed this trend, but rather dared to this day to be different in sound as well. At the same time it is just as versa-tile as all other instruments. What’s typical about Bösendor-fer is the Viennese sound – a tone that is especially pleasing to the ear and something that can’t be described in words.

© Guan Changxin

Maestro Paul Badura-Skoda celebrates his 85th birthday with a concert in the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing.

| 10


E S S A Y

One of the lasting rewards of performing and recording Ludwig van Beethoven’s thirty-two piano sonatas is the

privilege of getting to know the creator’s mind, of identifying the ideas, values, and visions that were the catalysts for his continued productivity in this form. The challenge is to iden-tify these recurring patterns in their vast variety and over a lifetime of artistic evolution.

I have identified seven specific artistic aims and techniques that are central to Beethoven’s creative process. The follow-

ing list, while somewhat arbitrary, begins to provide a win-dow into “the mind of Beethoven.”

Originality(1) A desire to surprise, startle, and delight the listener. Beethoven was wary of convention, and found myriad ways of avoiding predictability by playing with expectations, sometimes humorously, sometimes to startlingly innovative effect, but never in a gratuitously shocking way. He accom-plishes this goal by the originality of his themes, novel ways of developing them, and creating structural surprises that humorously or dramatically deny our Classical expectations.

Orchestration(2) Instrumental colors and textures. In attempting an un-derstanding of Beethoven’s piano writing, it is helpful to become familiar with his entire output, especially the string quartets and symphonies. The richly homogeneous texture of the string quartet is often found in slow movements, as in the Adagio molto of Op. 10/1. Tonality and texture sometimes suggest woodwind writing, as in the opening of the late so-nata Op. 110, or the horn duet opening the “Lebe wohl” sonata Op. 81a. Many orchestral textures can be found in the piano sonatas, evoking strings, winds, or timpani writing (as in the repeated low C’s in the recapitulation of the “Appassionata”). For performer and listener alike, these instrumental dimen-sions provide opportunities for an enhanced perception of the composer’s imagination and of the piano’s coloristic ca-pabilities.

Drama(3) Operatic aspects. Beethoven was obsessed by the desire to write operas, in which, as a moral idealist, he yearned to embody his beliefs in theatrical form. One operatic element that he uses in his piano sonatas is the recitative, a form of sung speech found, most tellingly, in the “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31, no. 2. According to Beethoven’s pupil Carl Czerny, the use of the pedal is supposed to create an echo effect “as if coming from a cave,” a haunting and powerful image of loneliness and abandonment.Another dramatic effect with psychological overtones is what I call the “stern/pleading duet,” a juxtaposition of im-placable force with vulnerable humanity, of which the most

wrenching example is the Adagio of the Fourth Piano Con-certo, in which the powerful orchestral string unison vies with the quiet, pleading voice of the soloist. One example in the piano sonatas is the ff bass and p treble exchange in the Adagio of Op. 2/3 (mm. 26–36).One operatic image that recurs in the piano sonatas is the stark opening of the second act of Fidelio: a dark stage where the prisoner languishes in despair. In piano music, darkness can be represented by the low register, as in the pp start in the Introduzione of the “Waldstein” sonata, Op. 53. To me, this movement represents desolation, arriving at the final Alle-gretto as a symbol of rescue and hope.

Nature(4) Nature as mystical inspiration. To Beethoven, nature rep-resented a reflection of the divine. In one of his notebooks, he wrote: “I am happy, blissful in the forest: every tree speaks through you, O God! What splendor!” In the piano sonatas, one can find its manifestation in many forms: benevolence (“Pastorale” sonata, Op. 28), bliss (Adagio, “Tempest” sonata), threat (opening of “Appassionata”), and storm (finale, “Moon-light” sonata, Op. 27/2). As in the “Pastoral” symphony, there is a love of village life, a Romantic symbol of folk simplicity and wisdom.

Illness and healing(5) One of Beethoven’s most intimate friends, Antonie Bren-tano, wrote to her sister-in-law Bettina: “He visits me often, almost daily, and then he plays spontaneously because he has an urgent need to alleviate suffering, and he feels he is able to do so with his heavenly sounds…”. There is no doubt that the composer, who himself suffered from many physical ailments, found musical ways to describe the ravages of dis-ease followed by the renewal of strength and the blessings of healing. The most powerful expression of this idea is in the Molto adagio of his String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, which bears the inscription “Holy Song of Thanks by a Convalescent, to the Divinity, in the Lydian Mode.”A similar stream-of-consciousness scene of weakness and regained strength is depicted in the finale of the Sonata in A-flat major, Op. 110, which alternates an “arioso dolente” (song of suffering), with a vast, restorative fugue followed by a return of the arioso, this time marked perdendo le forze, do-lente (losing strength, lamenting), after which the inversion of the fugue is stated with detailed instructions: sempre una corda (muted), poi a poi di nuovo vivente (gradually reviving). The gradual return of strength is indicated later by removing the mute (poi a poi tutte le corde), and by a speeding up of the pace (poi a poi più moto), finally bringing the piece to a close with a joyfully exhilarating restatement of the original fugue subject, harmonized by excited accompanying figures. In its vast stream-of-consciousness scenario, this is truly Beethoven’s pianistic opera.

A Performer’s Perspective

The Mind of Beethoven

11 |

Improvisation(6) Improvisation as compositional device. Beethoven was a masterful improviser, as noted by numerous contemporary witnesses. As he matured, he increasingly used improvisa-tory passages in his sonatas, making them part of the over-all structure. This technique is best seen in the transition to the finale of Op. 101, where the theme of the first movement gradually becomes the inspiration for the fourth movement by transforming three notes: E–C#–B. It is inspiring to be al-lowed, through this device, a glimpse into the creative think-ing of the Master. As an example of this stream-of-conscious-ness compositional process, listen also to the introduction to the final fugue in the “Hammerklavier” Sonata, as Beethoven samples various Baroque forms (prelude, fantasia, toccata) through a cycle of descending thirds, until he finally arrives at his bold fugal subject.

Transcendence(7) The search for transcendence. By his maturity, Beethoven had traversed an immense journey in his development as a composer, moving beyond the Classical traditions inherited from his immortal predecessors, Haydn and Mozart. One of the forms that allowed him to explore new territory was the Classical composer’s bread and butter, the theme with vari-ations. In the final movements of two of his last sonatas, Op. 109 in E major and Op. 111 in C minor, he explores all aspects of musical expression, creating cumulative narratives of un-precedented power. In he finale of Op. 111 he begins his quest for transcendence with a simple Arietta in C major, marked Adagio molto semplice e cantabile. After many transforma-tions, a sublime texture emerges: the theme in high register, surrounded by trills above and murmuring triplets below, creating a magical sense of heavenly glow. This is the Master marking his farewell to the piano sonata with a statement of resignation and ultimate peace.

Peter Takács, Pianist

Peter Takács

Hailed as “a marvelous pianist” by the New York Times, Peter Takács has established himself as a distinguished performer, teacher, and lecturer. Winner of the William Ka-pell International Competition, he has appeared in recital, chamber music, and with orchestra in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He has given master classes throughout the world, and has been an adjudicator in many prestigious international competitions. His recording of the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas was released on the Cambria label in July 2011.

Piano: Bösendorfer 290 Imperial, Opus 44786© Rosen-Jones Photography

© John Seyfried

| 12


T e s t i m o n i a l s

The new Bösendorfer Imperial grand piano for the Hoch-schule für Musik und Theater München (Munich Academy of Music and Theatre)I think that an academy of music such as the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, where the training of pia-nists has traditionally played a very important role, ought to make a broad range of instruments available to its students. Students need to have the possibility of trying out various makes and their top products in concert. If we were to con-centrate on only a single brand it would impoverish the mu-sic and piano world. On that note, I think that Bösendorfer is making a very significant contribution to creating sounds other than the mainstream sound.

Prof. Michael Schäfer

Three new Bösendorfer grand pianos for the Vienna State OperaThe Vienna State Opera has very high demands on a piano manufacturer: instruments of the highest quality and the most careful maintenance of them. Over the years, we have turned to Bösendorfer time and again and have been satis-fied every time. The result: new instruments on reasonable terms and exceptionally accommodating care, from the sales contract to delivery, all the way to regular maintenance.We thank Bösendorfer warmly and are happy to continue our collaboration!

Dominique MeyerDirector, Vienna State Opera

232 Bösendorfer pianos at the University of Music and Per-forming Arts ViennaAt present the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien has 232 Bösendorfer pianos. As far as I am aware, all these are grand pianos. It is well known that Bösendorfer pianos have an exceptionally clear and transparent sound, which makes them the chosen instrument of many art-ists specialising in the classic repertoire of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. The Imperial Concert Grand has ar-guably the best bass of any piano available and is undoubt-edly among the finest instruments manufactured today.Our technicians insist on the purchase of Bösendorfer pianos because of their longevity – a matter of no little importance when planning for conversatories.

Prof. Martin Hughes Director of Institute of Solo Keyboard Studies at the Univer-sity of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

Photo: Martin Moravek · Copyright: MDW

Photo: Michael Pöhn · Copyright: Wiener Staatsoper

Photo: Archiv Hochschule für Musik u. Theater München

13 |

m i s c e l l an e ou s

The story began with a Disklavier grand piano in Google’s IDEA Center. Months later, Andy Rubin, Senior Vice Presi-

dent of Google, was searching for a very special grand piano for his wife and son. Bösendorfer’s partner in San Francisco, Music Exchange, introduced him to the Bösendorfer grand designed by Audi. Andy Rubin was instantly thrilled by it and decided to purchase the piano.After the instrument was delivered to his private residence, some desired technical changes on the part of Andy Rubin prompted Bösendorfer to arrange to deliver a substitute Audi grand piano. In the meantime, the customer’s desires were quickly implemented and Andy Rubin was so thrilled with the service by our partner and by Bösendorfer that he also pur-chased the second Audi grand. This piano now inspires the employees at Google’s corporate headquarters.

Why did Andy Rubin buy two Bösendorfer grand pianos designed by Audi? As an aficionado of both high per-

formance automobiles and sophisticated contemporary de-sign, the combination of piano building rich in tradition as epitomized by Bösendorfer together with the design by Audi particularly thrilled him.

The world’s first black wristwatch, the legendary exclusive glasses and the Porsche 911 – for decades, all of these

products have stood for the unique design language of Fer-dinand Alexander Porsche. In 1972, he founded the Porsche Design Studio in Stuttgart, whose headquarters he moved to Zell am See in Austria two years later. The Porsche Museum is acknowledging the company’s 40th anniversary with a special exhibition, where visitors can experience Porsche De-sign’s most important, interesting and exceptional products, as well as the company’s history.

A highlight of the special exhibition is the concert grand piano that Porsche Design Studio designed for the

Bösendorfer piano company in 2003. This piano symbolically represents all of the studio’s design works, which are distin-guished by their clear, functional formal language, careful selection of materials, as well as high-quality workmanship. The piano combines exceptional design with the famous Bösendorfer sound, which impressed the numerous guests at the grand opening celebration, among them the entire Porsche family.

Senior Vice President Andy Rubin and his love of modern technology, design and tradition.

Special Exhibition in the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart

Tradition Meets the Future: Bösendorfer at Google

Celebrating 40 Years of Porsche Design

Porsche Museum, Stuttgart

From left to right: Andy Rubin (Senior Vice President, Google) with Paul Starkey and Jim Fishback (Music Exchange) at Goog-le’s headquarters.

Photo: Peter von Seherr-Thoss

Photo: Yoshi Suzuki

| 14


F A C T O R Y

The Imperial is the 19th model that was designed and de-veloped at Bösendorfer. With its length of 290 cm (9’6’’),

the grand piano may not be the longest piano ever built, but with its width of 168 cm (5’6’’) it has a signifi cantly larger soundboard surface area and span width compared to any other concert grand piano ever made.

The genesis of the Imperial grand can be split into two signifi cant stages. The fi rst step was taken with the fore-

runner model number 14, which did not have a compass of eight octaves, but whose external design and length of 290 cm largely corresponds to the dimensions of today’s Imperial. The second step was initiated by the composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni, who approached Bösendorfer to build a grand piano whose compass should extend to subcontra C in the bass. At this time, Busoni was composing transcriptions of Bach’s organ works, and in so doing he desired to have the sound of the 32-foot pipes of the organ available directly on the piano as well. Since people at Bösendorfer have always liked to experiment and have been very open to new devel-opments, this experiment was in fact investigated and im-plemented. The result was ultimately so convincing that the piano went into series production starting around 1910 and was personally introduced to the then-emperor Franz Joseph by Ludwig Bösendorfer. To this day, the Imperial remains a fi xed and essential part of Bösendorfer’s range of products, and since its introduction more than one hundred years ago has been built without interruption and without any chang-es in signifi cant areas.

From a technical, constructional standpoint, there are sev-eral specifi c details that are signifi cant. For example, the

lowest string, the subcontra C, vibrates with a frequency of only sixteen Hertz, i.e. sixteen vibrations per second. It is ac-tually possible to follow and observe this movement – an ex-tremely slow one for a musical instrument’s vibrating string – with the naked eye. Altogether, the Imperial has nine ad-ditional bass strings, whose collective tensile force amounts to approximately 13,500 newtons, or, expressed differently, loads the piano with more than one tonne of additional force.

The soundboard of the Imperial grand likewise presents a special technical challenge, as the dimensions deviate

signifi cantly from those of a “normal” grand piano, particu-larly in terms of width. Due to the soundboard’s large span width, a special ribbing must be applied in order to both guarantee the proportionate load bearing capacity of the soundboard and simultaneously to make optimal vibrational

capability possible. For this purpose, the ribs are made such that they exhibit a special curvature on the side facing the soundboard, in order to guarantee the optimal balance be-tween static load bearing capacity and high vibrational free-dom. True, the principle of curved ribs is also used in all other Bösendorfer models, yet specifi c demands – and custom di-mensions and constructions as a result – apply to the Impe-rial in terms of the dimensioning of the rib cross sections and radius of curvature.

Also imposing is the rim construction of the Imperial model, with its numerous longitudinal beams and cross-

beams, which together with the outer rim and cast iron frame form an extremely stable structure to withstand the enormous string tensile force. The design of the cast iron frame is likewise special and very easily recognisable via the extensions on its outside. This specifi c design is necessary to reduce the weight of the frame, given its dimensions, as much as possible.

In addition to the specifi c constructional and technical fea-tures of the Imperial model, above all there are also acous-

tic properties that are exclusively reserved for this model. The specifi c sonic properties can in turn be traced back to the ad-ditional strings on the one hand, as well as to the dimension-ing and implementation of the soundboard, the bridges and ribs, and indeed to the entire resonating case. The outstand-ing wealth of tone colours that fundamentally distinguishes Bösendorfer grand pianos is even more strongly pronounced in the Imperial model and lends the instrument its unique sound, its special, “imperial” timbre.

Each string that is set into vibration via the striking of a hammerhead in turn stimulates all other strings of the

piano more or less to vibrate in sympathy, and these sympa-thetic vibrations complement the sound of every individual note. Often, this complement takes place largely in the par-tials spectrum area – this holds of course for the additional bass strings as well. This can very easily be proven by a little experiment: Play for instance a C major triad in the melody register in the treble while holding the lowest keys C2, E2 and G2 so that the dampers of these notes are raised and the strings are free to vibrate. These lowest notes are not actu-ally played, but are entirely set into vibration via the vibra-tions of the treble strings. If you now release the treble keys that were played while continuing to hold the lower keys, the treble strings are dampened and the only sound that is audi-ble is that which arose from the sympathetic vibration of the

The Bösendorfer model “Imperial” is a unique instrument in many ways. Apart from its impos-ing size, most apparent is of course the expanded compass of the keyboard. No other piano offers a compass of fully eight octaves – normally only 7 1/4 octaves are available on a piano. To avoid any diffi culties in orientating oneself, the additional white keys are given a black key cover. In place of the black key cover, older Imperial grands have a foldable cover that was de-signed as an expansion of the key block.

| 14


The Imperial Grand

15 |

deep bass strings. The result is actually astonishing – above all the intensity of the upper partials spectrum that is clearly audible in the form of higher frequencies.

This specifi c property of sonic expansion is remarkable in that it is not dependent upon directly striking the addi-

tional strings; rather, the sonic spectrum of every individual note benefi ts in each case. This means that especially music that does not take advantage of the keyboard’s entire spec-trum – such as Mozart’s music for instance – profi ts as much or more from the additional tone colours. A special feature of the Imperial’s sound, which is discovered and described again

and again by pianists and other musicians, is that individual notes sound very expressive and colourful. This phenomenon can in large part also be traced to the additional partials of the extra strings.

Altogether, the Imperial model probably most clearly represents the typical Viennese, inspiring Bösendorfer

sound for which our instruments have been internationally renowned for generations.

Modell 290 Imperial key points: Length: 290 cm / 9’6’’Width: 168 cm / 5’6’’Compass: 8 OctavesNumber of keys: 97Weight: 552 kg / 1.217 lbs Number of strings: 249

15 |

Visually unique: the nine additional black keys

| 16


F A C T O R Y

Of course, Bösendorfer’s tradition and experience were not abandoned in this ambitious project, and many time-tested details of the pre-existing Model 120’s construction were thus incorporated into the new instrument.

String properties:

As the basis for the Model 120’s stringing, we drew upon the existing Bösendorfer 120’s string properties, which

were signifi cantly revised in several sections and could thereby be decisively improved. In particular, the breaks at the bars were uncompromisingly optimised with regard to strike distance and the lengths of strings, in order to achieve as balanced and even a sonic character as possible. A series of different parameters needed to be taken into consideration for this exercise, including string tensile force, inharmonic-ity, load proportion, stiffness of the strings, and a number of other factors. Not to be forgotten is that in all of our efforts, our trademark – the typical “Bösendorfer sound” – needed to be up front and centre.

Back construction:

The Bösendorfer 120 is a classic upright piano with a reso-nating spruce wood back construction with fi ve back

posts. The key bed is also manufactured from the same material. In the Model 120, the construction and manufac-turing principle at the heart of the instrument, the acoustic construction, has been entirely redesigned. Since the sound-board of an upright piano has an irregularly curved, convex surface shape, fi tting it correctly to the back is of great im-portance. The more successful this alignment, the better is the dynamic effi ciency and the vibrational capability of the instrument’s acoustic construction. With the possibilities of CAD-supported construction software, such three-dimen-sional surfaces can be precisely designed, and transferred to CNC-controlled processing machines to be made. Through this, the curved underside of the ribs and the long bridge, and the surface of the back liners can all be precisely shaped according to the construction design. This method is an en-tirely new approach and offers the highest degree of preci-sion and the possibility of perfect alignment of all the indi-vidual components.

Cast iron frame:

The cast iron frame for the Model 120 (like all other Bösen-dorfer models) is cast by the Wagner company in Upper

Austria. In the construction and manufacturing of the pattern for the foundry, we likewise blazed new paths by implement-ing state-of-the-art construction and manufacturing meth-ods from the three-dimensional design drawing to the CNC-controlled milling of its individual parts.

Action:

For good playability of the piano, the length of the keys is decisive. For the new Bösendorfer Model 120, the same key

length as the larger Model 130 was used. In connection with the dynamically active acoustic construction, this has an ex-ceptionally positive effect on the playability and controllabil-ity of the action, and the sound, and is ground-breaking in a piano of this size.

Case:

The case – a classic console shape – can also be equipped with a “Sound Release System” as an option. In this ver-

sion, direct sound is able to fl ow outwards, even when the case is closed, through concealed slits in the top door, which is signifi cantly richer in overtones than the rather damped sound of a completely closed upright piano. Sound:

The Model 120 exhibits a dynamically open sonic character and simultaneously represents a further typical and un-

mistakable “Bösendorfer” sound that is distinguished by its richness of colours and its warmth.

The Model 120 in numbers: Height: 120 cm / 3’11’’Width: 151,8 cm / 4’4’’Compass: 7 1/4 octavesWeight: 262 kg / 578 lbsNumber of pedals: 3

Bösendorfer has decided – after quite a few years of abstinence – to reintroduce a 120 cm / 3‘11‘‘ upright piano into its product range. The goal of this project was not simply to resume ma-nufacturing the original Model 120, but rather to present an entirely newly revised and refi ned instrument.

New Bösendorfer Model 120

| 16


The new Bösendorfer Model 120

17 |

I k e b a n a

Bösendorfer Japan Group displayed our Klimt model at the exhibition of the renowned Japanese flower artist, Shogo

Kariyazaki, held at the Chorakukan in Kyoto from 14th to 19th March 2012. Since Shogo Kariyazaki’s floral arrangements have a reputation for their own style – bold yet subtle – and their unique use of colour, approximately 10,000 people vis-ited throughout the exhibition. They greatly enjoyed both his gorgeous flowers and a special Bösendorfer piano with the world famous “Kiss” by Gustav Klimt.

Chorakukan is a Renaissance style building established in 1909 to welcome distinguished guests. This beautiful

European guest house was named by Hirobumi Ito, the first Prime Mister of Japan. When he went to Europe by order of the Emperor Meiji, he was strongly impressed by the sound of Bösendorfer performed by Franz Liszt in Vienna, and then tried to invite him to Japan. Chorakukan has its own Bösen-dorfer piano and now holds concerts with some exclusive pianists. During this exhibition, 4 pianists played with the Klimt model day by day. They stated their impressions about the Klimt model with admiration; “This is the best instrument ever that enables you to express colourfully and sensitively with very soft sound. What a delicate piano it is that makes it possible to play both soft and clear pianissimo!”, “I’m over-whelmed with the beautiful sound. I feel like being covered by harmonic tones while the bass strings are resonant with Bösendorfer unique deep sound. This piano makes control of

The World of Flower Artist Shogo Kariyazaki at the Chorakukan, Kyoto 2012

The new Bösendorfer Model 120

The renowned Japanese flower artist Shogo Kariyazaki

Flower arrangements by Shogo Kariyazaki and the Bösendorfer Model Klimt – a feast for eyes and ears

Phot

o: M

itsuy

oshi

Kim

ura

dynamics from pianissimo to fortissimo much easier than I imagined.”

The flower Artist Shogo Kariyazaki has a profound know-ledge of Classical Music and also plays piano. He praised

the Klimt model with its rich and warm sound as “the best piano in the world”. The combination of the floral arrange-ments by Shogo Kariyazaki, famous for “the hands spinning the beauty”, and the Klimt model with impressive appearance and sound, attracted the visitors’ eyes and ears. In this way Bösendorfer timelessly fascinates many people even today.

| 18



In memory of the composer, the Johannes Brahms Society, based in Pörtschach, Austria, created the International Jo-

hannes Brahms Competition for piano and chamber music.Around 500 candidates from 47 nations applied for this year’s competition. Virtually every Eastern and Western European country was represented. In the piano jury were the Presi-dent of the Vienna Beethoven Society (Wiener Beethoven Ge-sellschaft), Alexander Jenner; the Director of the Franz Liszt College of Music, Prof. Lehel Both; the Vice President of the Piano Society of Korea, Prof. Dr. Young-Bae Kim; the Professor of piano and chamber music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Prof. Avedis Kouyoumdjian, as well as the internationally acclaimed pianist Prof. Jura Margulis.

The winners of the piano competition: 1. Mari Sato, b. 1987, Japan; 2. Kanako Kuroda, b. 1982, Japan; 3. David

Hausknecht, b. 1992, Czech Republic. The competition was crowned by the violin and piano finale, accompanied by the Euro Symphony SFK Youth Orchestra conducted by Ernest Hoetzl, at the Congress Centre Pörtschach. Finally, the win-ners’ concert took place at the well-filled Casino in Velden.

In the course of a master class at the Arnold Schönberg Centre, following a rehearsal of Schönberg’s Gurrelieder at

Bösendorfer Downtown showroom in the Vienna Musikver-ein, Maestro Zubin Mehta entered into a discussion with around thirty students and young artists. For two weeks, the Schönberg Academy brought young pianists, composers and musicologists to Vienna to enable them to critically exam-ine Schönberg’s works and influence. The participants came from the United States, primarily from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the State Conservatories of Kazan, Shanghai and Chengdu, as well as from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. All of them are among the most renowned institu-tions in their areas of speciality worldwide. The Schönberg Academy thus had an excellent selection of future interna-tional top artists amongst the participants.A series of questions from the Academy participants to Maes-tro Mehta dealt with details of compositional and perfor-mance practice. In a more general second part, Mehta spoke about his period of study in Vienna, where he graduated from the class of Hans Swarovsky with a conducting debut in the Brahms-Saal of the Musikverein with Schönberg’s Chamber Symphony, Op. 9. Since this unforgettable experience, he has regularly and happily returned to the Musikverein for more

The best participants from the piano, lied, chamber music, viola and cello competitions guaranteed some inspiring mo-ments. At the same time, the audience prize was announced, which was awarded to the French cellist Benjamin Truchi.

than 50 years. According to Mehta, once you have the sound of the Vienna Philharmonic in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein in your ear, you long for that sound regardless of where you are in the world and the orchestra with which you’re currently working. For Mehta, part of this sound is the instruments by the Bösendorfer piano company, and this is also a reason why he was happy to visit Bösendorfer Down-town.

In 1877 Johannes Brahms made his way to Wörthersee for the first time. Soon thereafter, he disco-vered that “Here, the melodies just flow out of me,” and spent three summers composing there.

19th International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach/Wörthersee

In Conversation with Maestro Zubin Mehta

Mari Sato won the 19th International Johannes Brahms Com-petition in the piano category.

Feeling at ease at Bösendorfer Downtown in the Vienna Musikverein: Maestro Zubin Mehta

Phot

o: C

hris

toph

Edt

may

r · ©

Arn

old

Schö

nber

g Ce

nter

Ph

oto:

Arc

hive

s Mar

i Sat

o

19 |


The perfectly matched connection between enjoying cul-ture and the freshness of summer is a good Austrian

tradition. One of the most beautiful places is the Salzkam-mergut, on the Traunsee in Upper Austria, which provided an incomparable setting for the 2012 Salzkammergut Fest-wochen Gmunden. This anniversary festival, which has al-ready been in existence for 25 years, presented outstanding pianists on Bösendorfer pianos in addition to outstanding young talents, celebrated composers and interpreters, and major names of Austrian literature. As well as performances by pianists including Dennis Russell Davies, Maki Namekawa and Andreas Eggertsberger, there was a grandiose concert with the young star pianist Khatia Buniatishvili. This new star in the pianistic sky captivated the audience with a scintillat-ing virtuosity that was never extroverted, one that seemed to know no technical boundaries. This virtuosity was combined with an outstanding awareness of sound and a musical hy-persensitivity that also expressed the melancholy, shadowy sides of Liszt’s late style in an overwhelming manner. She played the following works: Franz Liszt’s Sonata in B minor and Mephisto Waltz, Franz Schubert / Franz Liszt lieder and Igor Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka.

Pianistic World Class

Celebrating 25 Years of the Salzkammergut Festwochen Gmunden

Star pianist Khatia Buniatishvili

Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa

This summer, on the beautiful Lake Attersee in Upper Aus-tria, the concert series Attersee Klassik took place once

again. With this series, the festival, founded in 2002, contin-ues the encounters between artists and the audience in a fa-miliar atmosphere. A central part in the programme is taken by the International Orchestral Institute Attergau, which is under the patronage of the Vienna Philharmonic and col-laborates with the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Teachers at the institute are exclusively members of the Vienna Philharmonic, who familiarise students from all over the world with the distinctive features of the Vien-nese style of sound. The best students of the Institute and the Vienna Philharmonic’s Angelika Prokopp Summer Acad-emy were introduced at Attersee Klassik. Workshops, public rehearsals and concerts with renowned artists, including Corinne Chapell, Adrian Brendel and Milana Chernyavska, took place. The students also had the opportunity to look over the great master’s shoulder and be inspired by his abili-ties during the chamber music seminar led by Alfred Brendel. For the event’s finale, Alfred Brendel’s student Kit Armstrong, whom he called “the greatest musical talent,” performed on

the Bösendorfer Model 280 concert grand. Together with the Attersee Institute Orchestra conducted by Maestro Bertrand de Billy, Kit Armstrong played works by Franz Schubert, Wolf-gang Amadeus Mozart and Johannes Brahms.

Continuation of the Attersee Klassik concert series at one of Europe’s most fascinating landscapes

Attersee Klassik 2012

Kit Armstrong on a Bösendorfer Model 280 concert grand

Phot

o: M

icha

el M

arits

ch

Phot

os b

y Fe

stw

oche

n G

mun

den

Modell 214

Independent Capo d‘astro:Unique, designed by

Bösendorfer in Austria

Open pin block:Handcrafted

by Bösendorfer in Austria

The keyboard:Made in Germany

to Bösendorfer specifications

The action:Renner, Made in Germany

to Bösendorfer specifications

The soundboard:Mountain spruce from

the Austrian Alps

The bass strings:Handspun by

Bösendorfer in Austria

The cast-iron frame:Hand moulded

in Austria

The bridge:Handcrafted


The resonating case:Handcrafted


The inner rim:Handcrafted


The tonewood:Airdried, top Alpine

quality

The Bösendorfer origin guaranTeeEvery Bösendorfer grand piano is made by hand in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

All parts of a genuine Bösendorfer grand piano are European:

www.Boesendorfer.com

Model 214

BSD Magazin 2012 En

Documents

Transcript of BSD Magazin 2012 En