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Glenn Wagstaff
A Steinway and Sons piano played by Keith Jarrett, Diana Krall, Mccoy Tyner, David Benoit, Lang Lang, Emanuel Ax, and Yefim Bronfman stands in exhibition on the showroom floor of the Hopper Piano Company in Raleigh, NC on Wednesday, July 5. The piano exhibition is part of the "Living Legends Tour" hosted by Steinway and Sons. In the showcase are three pianos played by famous artists including Billy Joel and many more.
Deliciously romantic, deeply rich and resembling all that is class, the piano is an instrument worth fawning over — and Hopper Piano and Organ Company agrees. Steinway and Sons’ Living Legends tour has stopped at the local piano vendor, giving local pianists and appreciators the chance to jam out on the very Steinway pianos played by renowned musicians, from Billy Joel to Harry Connick Jr. to Diana Krall. The ongoing event is located at Hopper Piano and Organ Company during regular store hours, and will end Saturday.
This summer’s much-anticipated piano tour offers the public a chance to experience what can only be described as musical magic. Since its start in 2012, piano vendors, universities and concert halls have proven popular Living Legends destinations across the country. Thanks to Raleigh’s very own Steinway vendor, Hopper Piano, locals have the chance to experience what everyone’s talking about. For Hopper Piano’s Institutional Sales Manager, Keith Pendergraft, Living Legends was an opportunity far too tempting to pass up.
“It’s a whole different audience of people that relate to these pianos and, when you have an opportunity to do something like that, it’s something we want to be a part of,” Pendergraft said.
Having played the piano since he was 7 years old, Pendergraft’s relationship with music is a nothing short of natural. Pendergraft’s extensive knowledge of the instrument has allowed him to fully appreciate each and every piano’s history, as they “all have stories to tell.” The highlighted concert pianos — one 7-inch Model B, and two 9-inch Model D’s — are universal, top-notch instruments that have been played in a wide variety of musical styles. From Lang Lang’s classical masterpieces to all-time favorites such as Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” the three pianos prove to be, in short, legendary.
“Different pianos play different music, in different ways,” Pendergraft said. “It’s hard to say which one’s my favorite. They’re all my favorite.”
Hopper Piano has brought Steinway pianos, which are widely deemed the finest of pianos, to the Raleigh area since 1959. As a result, the company provides local musicians, schools and music venues with only the best of instruments to highlight exceptional talent.
Steinway and Sons’ Jim Hoover, director of sales and promotions, works out of New York to ensure the tour is successful in each and every one of the 31 states lucky enough to be on this year’s tour list. Hoover, who manages the tour schedules each year, said that the company ensures the piano delicacies are handled with the best care possible. To maintain stability and reduce cabinet damages, the pianos are wrapped in heated trucks during the winter. Until delivery time, they stay safe in the Steinway and Sons “bank” located in New York. From this very bank of pianos, renowned artists pick and choose what instrument would best fit their recording and performance needs.
“To offer to the public and our dealers the opportunity to hear and play these pianos, played by contemporary pianists of all genres, is unique,” Hoover said. “We are not limited to or focused on strictly classical music. We appeal to other musical interests such as Jazz, Pop, Rock and Contemporary forms of music.”
In Hoover’s eyes, Steinways are more than just pianos — they’re like children, each with unique personalities and, simply put, he loves them all.
“The coolest thing about them is that no two Steinways sound or feel the same, and each artist will hear and feel differences between them,” Hoover said. “So the question is why, or what, does Billy Joel feel something different from the other artists? It is an individual feeling that inspires them to create the absolute best sound for their particular pieces, and you cannot do this on any other piano— only a Steinway.”