Daniel Barenboim - On My New Piano (2016)

Daniel Barenboims first solo recording on the remarkable new concert grand Barenboim-Maene which he developed in collaboration with instrument maker Chris Maene.

Barenboim has selected works by four keyboard masters to display his pianos timbral and tonal capabilities: Ive fallen in love with my new piano , he exclaims, and want to spend as much time with it as possible.

Conceived and commissioned by Barenboim himself, the new piano was developed and built by esteemed Belgian instrument maker Chris Maene, with support from Steinway & Sons.

Barenboim was inspired to create a new piano after playing Franz Liszts restored grand piano during a trip to Siena in September 2011. Struck by the vital differences in sound of an instrument constructed with straight, parallel strings rather than the diagonal crossed ones of a contemporary instrument, he set out to create a brand new instrument that combines the best of the old and the new and offers a real alternative for pianists and music-lovers in the 21st century.

Barenboim says - The transparency and tonal characteristics of the traditional straight-strung instruments is so different from the homogenous tone produced by the modern piano across its entire range. The clearly distinguishable voices and color across its registers of Liszts piano inspired me to explore the possibility of combining these qualities with the power, looks, evenness of touch, stability of tuning and other technical advantages of the modern Steinway…

TRACKLIST
01. Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata In C Major, Kk. 159
02. Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata In D Minor, Kk. 9
03. Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata In E Major, Kk. 380
04. Beethoven: 32 Piano Variations In C Minor On An Original Theme, WoO 80
05. Chopin: Ballade No. 1 In G Minor, Op. 23
06. Wagner, Liszt: Solemn March To The Holy Grail From Parsifal, S. 450
07. Liszt: 10 Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173
08. Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No.1, S. 514