CD Release: Daniel Barenboim ‘On my New Piano’

 

Out now on Deutsche Grammophon

 

Daniel Barenboim presents his first solo recording on the remarkable new concert grand Barenboim-Maene, which he developed in collaboration with instrument maker Chris Maene.

Barenboim has selected works by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Chopin, Wagner and Liszt to display his piano’s timbral and tonal capabilities. “I’ve fallen in love with my new piano”, he exclaims, “and want to spend as much time with it as possible.”

Conceived and commissioned by Barenboim himself, the new piano was developed and built by esteemed Belgian instrument maker Chris Maene, with support from Steinway & Sons. Barenboim was inspired to create a new piano after playing Franz Liszt’s restored grand piano during a trip to Siena in September 2011. Struck by the vital differences in sound of a piano constructed with straight, parallel strings rather than the diagonal crossed ones of a contemporary one, he set out to create a brand new instrument that combines the best of the old and the new and offers a real alternative for pianists and music-lovers in the 21st century.

Pianist editor Erica Worth attended the launch at London’s Southbank Centre in May last year (see pictures), where Barenboim explained the concept.

Barenboim says:

“The transparency and tonal characteristics of the traditional straight-strung instruments is so different from the homogenous tone produced by the modern piano across its entire range. The clearly distinguishable voices and colour across its registers of Liszt’s piano inspired me to explore the possibility of combining these qualities with the power, looks, evenness of touch, stability of tuning and other technical advantages of the modern Steinway…”

There are only two Barenboim-Maene in the world. Daniel Barenboim will play selected pieces of the album repertoire on his new piano during his European recital tour.

 

Daniel Barenboim: On my New Piano, Deutsche Grammophon, CD/Download 00289 479 6724

 

The CD will be released in a future issue of Pianist. 

 

Full tracklisting below:

 

       DOMENICO SCARLATTI (1685–1757)

1     Sonata in C major K 159 / L 104                                                  

2     Sonata in D minor K 9 / L 413                                                      

3     Sonata in E major K 380 / L 23                                                    

       LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

4     32 Variations in C minor on an Original Theme WoO 80       

       FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810–1849)

5     Ballade No. 1 in G minor op. 23                                                   

       RICHARD WAGNER (1813–1883) / FRANZ LISZT (1811–1886)

6     Solemn March to the Holy Grail from Parsifal S 450                

       FRANZ LISZT

7     Funérailles S 173/7                                                                         

       (from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses)

8     Mephisto Waltz No. 1: The Dance in the Village Inn S 514