Rare and fully-restored grand piano to be centrepiece of presentation and concert
August 6, 2016

On Tuesday evening, August 9th, an authentically-restored, century-old grand piano with an intriguing local story will be featured onstage at Brandon University.
This rare Blüthner grand piano, made of exotic Rosewood, was built in Leipzig, Germany in 1905. Blüthner pianos, known for their singing-tone, featured a mysterious, patented over-string that adds a unique silvery-quality to the sound. How this exotic European musical instrument actually ended up in Manitoba is a fascinating story in itself, to be revealed on this special evening.
Over the past year, this instrument has undergone extensive renovations, including replacement of the piano’s delicate soundboard, which is considered the heart of the piano.
“The original soundboard was so badly-cracked, reusing it simply wasn’t an option,” says Mark Cramer, Brandon University’s resident piano technician, who directed the restoration. “The art of restoring pianos of this vintage, is to have a guiding-vision of the instrument’s original tone and touch, so that we can hear music today, the way it would have sounded over a century ago.”
Cramer will give a pre-concert talk, sharing photographs of the year-long restoration, along with intriguing details of this instrument’s past lives. Later that evening, several distinguished pianists with significant local connections of their own, will take the stage to perform a mini-concert of piano solos showcasing the Blüthner’s signature sound.
Entitled “The Art of Restoration,” this presentation is the opening feature of Augustfest 2016, a casual-comfortable summertime homecoming of International Artists and Musicians with Westman roots, sharing music, art and lively discussion. Everyone is welcome!
A question and answer session and a reception will follow.
- Rosewood Blüthner Grand Piano
- Handtools for Stringing
- The rebronzed cast iron string frame is carefully fitted to the new White-Eastern Spruce soundboard
- The new soundboard and strings are being installed.
- New hand-wound copper bass strings being installed.
- The Blüthner grand piano had all 268 strings replaced, along with a brand new soundboard.
- The mysterious Blüthner aliquot-string resonates sympathetically with the sound of the piano’s other strings.
- The pianos hammers — made of felt — are needled to develop the piano’s tone.
- Close to a full year of handcrafted restoration went into this rare 1905 Blüthner Rosewood Grand Piano
For more information, please contact:
Mark Cramer, RPT
Registered Piano Technician
204-727-7462
cramer@brandonu.ca
Grant Hamilton
Marketing Communications Officer
204-571-8542
hamiltong@brandonu.ca