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Montreal, October 26, 2023 – The chairman of the board of the Arte Musica Foundation, Pierre Bourgie, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a new concert grand piano—a Steinway Model D from Hamburg—for Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
This Steinway model D-274 grand piano, manufactured in Hamburg, measures 9 feet (8’ 113⁄4″), or 274 cm. This model is one of the most highly-regarded in the world, popular with prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and the Philharmonie de Paris. The Hamburg Steinway has been and remains the preferred choice of such renowned performers as Alfred Brendel, Arthur Rubinstein, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Krystian Zimerman, and many others.
This piano was selected following a search that took place for more than a year. Bourgie Hall’s administration wished to equip the hall with a new instrument of outstanding quality, suited to the hall’s specialities, solo recitals and chamber music.
Chosen by pianist Olivier Godin, Artistic Director of Bourgie Hall, this instrument stands out due to its opulent timbre, vast expressive range, and extremely precise action, allowing for a great variety of colours and nuances. Its novel HDS (Harmonic Damper Setting) damper control system allows for increased and very precise control of the pedal.
The acquisition of this instrument aligns with the desire of Bourgie Hall’s administrators, Olivier Godin and Caroline Louis, to give particular attention to the “Outstanding Pianists” series. Prominent local and international pianists will continue to be part of it during the coming seasons.
This Hamburg Steinway piano joins Bourgie Hall’s magnificent keyboard instrument collection, which includes two harpsichords, a clavicytherium, a fortepiano, an Érard piano, and two chamber organs. It replaces the New York model acquired in 2011 and which, over the years, has resounded in Bourgie Hall beneath the fingers of numerous remarkable musicians.
The public is invited to hear this new instrument during an inaugural week of concerts, which will allow music lovers to enjoy a vast repertoire of pieces.
Bourgie Hall’s new piano: inaugural week of concerts
November 1, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.: Sandra Murray and Claire Ouellet – Works for two pianos by Debussy, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff
November 2, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.:Christian Blackshaw – Mozart’s sonatas K. 309, 331, 533/494 and 576
November 5, 2023 at 6 p.m.: Pierre-Laurent Aimard – Works by Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy and Ligeti (presented as part of the Ligeti Festival)
November 7, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.:Llŷr Williams – Works by Albéniz, Bartók, Chopin, Grieg, Liszt and others
Over the coming months, renowned international pianists will also be heard playing this instrument during Bourgie Hall’s 2023-2024 season: notably, Víkingur Ólafsson, Igor Levit, Alexander Melnikov, Michelle Cann, André Laplante, and Bruce Liu.
About Bourgie Hall
Inaugurated in September 2011, Bourgie Hall is a 462-seat concert hall at the heart of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Possessing exceptional acoustics, it has quickly made a name for itself as one of Canada’s most beloved venues for concert music. Located in the nave of the former Erskine and American Church, its spectacular architecture includes a collection of twenty Tiffany stained glass windows that is unique in the country. Bourgie Hall presents over a hundred concerts a year in various musical styles, ranging from jazz to classical works, from Baroque music to contemporary creations. Its high-calibre programming features some of the most prominent Canadian and international musicians of their generation, whether they be at the beginning of their careers or already well established. bourgiehall.ca
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