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New York Times

The Frick Needs a New Piano. Which Would You Choose?

On a recent morning, the pianist Jeremy Denk got an early look at the renovated Frick Collection. Not the art: He took an elevator straight down to the museum's new auditorium where, on entering, he held a hand to his chin and surveyed the three Steinway pianos lined up across the stage like pageant queens. He walked to an ornate and glossy rosewood grand from 1882, and warmed up with some music by Bach before jumping around, to Beethoven's Op. 111 sonata and other hits of the piano repertoire. Denk asked if anyone in the room had a request. He was, he said, 'happy to be a jukebox.' But he was also there with a serious task. The Frick's old Music Room, a haven for chamber performances, rented its piano, said Jeremy Ney, the museum's new head of music and performance. So Annabelle Selldorf's renovation and expansion of the Frick, which includes a 220-seat auditorium that sounds like a world-class concert hall and looks like the inside of a flower, was an opportunity to purchase a new instrument. The question was, what kind? With a team that included Raj Patel, the acoustician who worked on the auditorium, Ney assembled a trio of pianos to choose from, all Model D Steinways but with distinct sounds based on when they were made and where: the 1882 one, nicknamed Palisandra; another, from 1965, called Volodya; and a 2017 concert grand made in Hamburg, Germany. Over the past several weeks, a handful of pianists passed through to sample them and offer their thoughts ahead of the hall's opening festival, April 26 through May 11. Denk was one, spending a couple of hours to play each instrument and suggest which the Frick should buy. He skipped around musical eras, playing excerpts from 'pieces that require color,' he said, 'pieces that feature lyricism, pieces where you need clarity and speed.' In picking which piano to recommend, Denk said, he was 'looking for something that you can make friends with without too much negotiation.' Soloists passing through on tour will want an instrument that they can adapt to quickly, and that suits a varied repertoire. Ideally, one of the Frick's contenders will meet those criteria. Meet them below, and listen to each one's sound. Palisandra This Steinway concert grand piano is a Centennial D, originally made for an exposition in Philadelphia to celebrate 100 years of American independence. Today it belongs to Peter and Cathy Halstead, the founders of Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana. Like a modern Model D, it is nearly 9 feet long. Befitting its era, though, it looks comparatively Baroque. Denk was quick to appreciate the Palisandra. 'It's eloquent,' he said, and its warmth persisted through the briskly repeating chords of Beethoven's 'Waldstein' Sonata, the flowing textures of Ravel's 'Ondine' and, surprisingly, even some Shostakovich written for more modern pianos. But, Denk said, 'this piano is unusual enough that it could be a problem.' It has a somewhat heavy action, meaning that it requires more than the usual force to press a key. That isn't necessarily a deal breaker. Players would just need time to adjust to it. Volodya During Denk's visit, the Volodya, a modern concert grand built in 1965, with a matte black finish, was effectively two instruments in one. The piano tuner Tali Mahanor, who lent it to the Frick for consideration after refurbishing it, outfitted it with a second action, or keyboard mechanism, that could be replaced like a cassette tape. It can be difficult to judge a hall's acoustics without an audience. Bodies absorb sound, so when a room is empty, a piano can seem deceptively bright. The Volodya was very bright. 'It's really hard to control,' Denk said as he played some of the same music he had played on the Palisandra. He worried about chamber music. 'If you were playing with the lid up,' he said, 'the violinist would not be heard.' Then Mahanor put in the second action, which was more balanced but still unwieldy, especially if Denk tried to add textures with the instrument's pedals. 'I'm just keeping my feet as far from the pedal as humanly possible,' Denk said while playing Ravel's 'Gaspard de la Nuit.' He repeatedly asked others in the hall whether the sound was clear enough because he found it difficult to 'poke through the reverb.' Modern Hamburg Steinways are made in New York and Hamburg. The pianos from each city have signature sounds, and slightly different appearances. (The giveaway is the side arms at the ends of the keyboard: New York's are more severe, Hamburg's are rounded.) This final piano is German, and, with its glossy finish, looks like a typical concert grand today. After playing more Beethoven, as well as the opening melody of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano concerto, Denk observed that the Hamburg had 'a nice singing tone.' It was clear and balanced through some Ligeti, too. Again, Denk worried that the piano might be too loud, but he admitted it was hard to tell from where he was sitting. Out in the auditorium, Ney and Patel assured him it sounded good. Still, Denk suggested pulling the piano away from the wall, which helped. 'It may be,' he said, 'that the distance from the wall is more meaningful here inch by inch.' With that, it was time for Denk to recommend a piano. Which would you pick, and which do you think the Frick chose based on his suggestion? Find out what happened next by answering these two questions: