Any Steinway & Sons piano is purely magical. 97% of concert soloists chose to play on a Steinway piano and that’s because they’re simply one of the best. At the Steinway gallery, Singapore, talented performers were invited to play on what are some of the finest pianos in the world. Hand crafted with 12,116 individual parts, each Steinway is a rarity in its own, with unrivaled touch, sound and sheer beauty. The piano’s come in many different models, the grand piano’s of which come in D, B, O, A, M and S. The D in particular is commonly found in major concert venues all around the world, being larger and capable of filling a large concert hall with its resonating sound. We were extremely honored to have been invited to hold a recital at a gallery with many of these different models on show.
Fantasie Impromptu in C# minor is one of Chopin’s most frequently performed and popular compositions. Featuring often fiendishly difficult semiquavers in the right hand, and soaring arpeggios in the left, it poses many challenges to any pianist. Performed by Amelia Lee, this piece immediately demonstrated eagle eye precision from the first note, one of the many characteristics required to play Chopin so beautifully. The slower tempo gave a chance for the music to flourish too, enhancing what was a very stable and moving performance. A possible faster tempo and the feeling of even more space at moments would have made this performance even more spectacular. This was a mature interpretation of Chopin coupled with clearly advanced technical ability. A very special performance.
One of Beethoven’s most famous compositions is Fur Elise. Many controversies have arisen over the piece, such as whom ‘Elise’ was that Beethoven wrote it for, issues with retrieving its original manuscript and possible misinterpretations. All of these make the piece quite mysterious and the performer, Gwyneth, depicts this very well through a series of emotional journeys. A great fluency between the hands found very seamless arpeggios in the opening, with absolute perfection with regards to tempo. The sonorous touch of the Steinway also enhanced your use of dynamics here, with some indulgent whispering and contrasting dramatic chords; all of which shaped the music beautifully.
Swinging Rabbit was effortlessly played and marvelously constructed. Composed and performed by Gwyneth, this short yet trance-inducing piece found a fabulous sense of emotion and style, with the resounding sound of an incredible Steinway & Sons piano. Gwyneth clearly has an adept understanding of composition and honed practical ability which makes this performance especially invigorating. A truly spectacular feeling of space in this piece also helps guide the listener through a series of different scenes, in what is a very depictive piece of music.
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