By Natalia Bordilovskaya: Today, the Belarusian State Academy of Music opens its 85th season. The Academy will officially present one of its best acquisitions – the world famous Steinway grand piano. The instrument is a gift of the Special Fund of the President of Belarus for supporting talented youth and extra-budgetary funds of the Conservatory.
Steinway & Sons grand piano is an instrument with nearly 200 years of tradition. In the mid-19th century, the German immigrant cabinetmaker Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg founded the legendary company in New York, but over time, his successors moved production to his homeland, to Hamburg. Today, it is a classic German brand that delivers its instruments to the royal courts of the UK, Spain, and Sweden. The composer Franz Liszt owned a Steinway grand piano. In the 20th century, a Steinway was part of the image of such musicians as George Michael and John Lennon.
Today, the piano costs over 222,000 dollars. Steinway & Sons patented their secrets, including the technology of making the structure of a unique piano body, and the texture of hand-made resonant decks.
In Belarus, a Steinway is a rarity. There are three grand pianos in the Philharmonic Society, one – in the Belarusian radio, and two – in the Bolshoi Theater. Of all the regional centres, only Vitebsk has a Steinway. Until now, the Belarusian Academy of Music has owned seven unique Yamahas.
The information about the new grand piano in Belarus, as well as its future, will be tracked in Hamburg. Since 1870, the company started a list of performers who own its instruments to see who will popularize its work.












