Piano Day 2019

News March 29, 2019

29 March 2019

Piano Day takes place on the 88th day of the year – in 2019 it’s 29th March – because of the number of keys on the instrument being celebrated. Although this isn't always true: the 'Declassifying the Classics' research group works with historical pianos with only 68 (Erard) or 73 (Broadwood) keys.

Among the artist-researchers at the Orpheus Institute there are quite a few (forte)pianists. To celebrate Piano Day we asked them about their favourite piano music, music that is related to their work or pieces they maybe always wanted to perform but never have:

Catherine Laws

Research fellow

Research cluster: Performance, Subjectivity and Experimentation

> Bio

For Bunita Marcus, Morton Feldman

WHEN THE WIND BLOWS for piano, toys and audio (2009) was composed by Juliana Hodkinson for Catherine Laws, who performs it here.

Tom Beghin

Research fellow

Research cluster: Declassifying the Classics

> Bio

Ever since I started playing historical pianos (which was in my early twenties), I’ve wanted to play Schumann’s F-sharp Minor Sonata Op. 11. On and off I started practicing it, but never quite got to perform it. There’s something irresistible about the key of F-sharp minor… Like Haydn’s Farewell Symphony or Ignaz Moscheles’ “Sonate mélancolique," which I did play a lot. I just know it: it has to become “my” piece one of these years.