Period pianos evoke the past
Polish contest celebrates sounds of rare historic instruments
WARSAW: A rare collection of historic grand pianos emits the authentic but forgotten sounds that transport the audience at a celebrated new music competition in Poland back to the era of Frederic Chopin.
Unlike their modern black, lacquered heirs, the instruments dating from the 19th century also boast rich brown hues of varnished wood.
The makes and models include favourites of the prolific Polish-French pianist and romantic composer, who died in France in 1849.
Now, 30 pianists from around the globe, taking part in Poland’s first International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments, can pick and choose from among the pianos.
“They all date back to the 19th century and Chopin played on each of these models,” Artur Szklener, director of the Warsawbased Fryderyk Chopin Institute said, referring to five grand pianos gracing the stage of the Warsaw Philharmonic among the special collection.
“His favourite was the Pleyel, but we also have Erard, Buchholtz and other period pianos,” he said, adding that they were borrowed from various collections.
Unlike today’s standardised grand pianos, models created during a period of technical innovation in the 19th century vary in their construction and quality of sound, giving each instrument its own personality.
Depending on the model, brand and year of manufacture, “it feels like you’re listening to a lot of different sounds, lots of different pianos”, said Claire Chevallier, a specialist in antique pianos and a jury member at the competition in Warsaw.
She wanted competitors to “be at one with what each instrument can offer so they can express very personal things, adapted to the instrument and its quality of sound”.
The use of the historic pianos makes the event, which runs from
€
Sept 214 with a first prize of 15,000 (RM71,990), unlike any other, said the Chopin Institute.
The competition is modelled on the venerable International Chopin Piano Competition, launched in Poland in 1927 and held every five years since 1955.
Winning the prestigious event opens doors to international careers. But winning a competition with period pianos poses an even greater challenge to musicians used to standardised modern instruments.
“These instruments are extremely demanding at the technical level, the level of listening and the level of managing the instruments’ acoustics, not to mention the acoustics of the room,” said Chevallier.
Like his competitors, French pianist Benjamin d’Anfray, 30, is well aware of this.
“Every era has its own style of piano and technique,” he said. “When we play them, we can be sucked into another world and have sound sensations and worlds of sound that are so different.”