Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen donates new concert grand piano to the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
– This will be Bergen's most important concert instrument, says the orchestra’s managing director, Sigurd Sverdrup Sandmo.
In August, Leif Ove Andsnes visited Steinway & Sons in Hamburg to select the new grand piano. Accompanying him on the trip were Alexandra Jebsen, representing the donor, Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen, and Sigurd Sverdrup Sandmo.
Andsnes was given ten grand pianos to choose from. With his deep familiarity with both the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Grieghallen, he selected an instrument that meets the specific demands of filling a large concert hall with sound alongside a full symphony orchestra.
"The challenge in a large concert hall is that the grand piano requires significant structural tension to produce the brilliance and radiant tone expected in such a venue. The piano must be able to hold its own against a large symphony orchestra. A new concert grand possesses the necessary tension," says Leif Ove Andsnes.
"Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen is very proud to support the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, which provides the city with cultural experiences of the highest quality. We are delighted by this new opportunity to highlight our long-standing partnership," says Managing Director Nicholas Nunn.
Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen also helped the orchestra, known locally as "Harmonien", purchase a new soloist grand piano in 2012. At that time, Leif Ove Andsnes tested seven concert grands before selecting the instrument now housed in Grieghallen; it has seen frequent use since he inaugurated it himself during the Bergen International Festival that same year.
The list of pianists who have played the instrument in the fourteen years since 2012 is long and prestigious. In addition to Andsnes himself, the piano has been played by artists such as Víkingur Ólafsson, Sir Stephen Hough, Kirill Gerstein, Alice Sara Ott, Benjamin Grosvenor, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Lars Vogt, Federico Colli, and Yulianna Avdeeva. “The grand piano from 2012 is still a fine instrument, but after fourteen years of heavy use, the time has come for a new soloist grand piano in Grieghallen. The old piano will still serve a very useful purpose in other contexts,” says Andsnes.
The new grand piano will be inaugurated at the concert on Thursday 24 September, with Andsnes himself as soloist in Johannes Brahms’ magnificent Piano Concerto No. 2. Rasmus Hella Mikkelsen conducts the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
“We are deeply grateful for this generous gift from Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen. The Foundation already makes significant contributions to our productions on Bergenphilive and also played a major role in supporting the orchestra during its 250th anniversary in 2015. This new gift is part of a long-standing partnership with the Foundation that has been of great importance to Musikkselskapet Harmonien and to Bergen as a city of music,” says Managing Director Sigurd Sverdrup Sandmo.