Bosendorfer's 175th Anniversary Celebration

October 20, 2003

On October 20^th, Bösendorfer New York, owned by Lisa and Gerhart Feldmann, held a celebration to mark its moving to a beautiful new showroom and its parent company’s 175th year in business.  Matt was honored to be one of six Bösendorfer piano artists invited to perform at this celebration.

There were three jazz pianists… Matt, D.D. Jackson, and Seth Kaufman.  There were also three classical pianists…Valentina Lisitsa, Alexeij Kuznetsoff, and Mariam Nazaram.

From left to right - Manfred Aichinger, D.D. Jackson, Seth Kaufman, Mariam Nazaram, Valentina Lisitsa, Alexeij Kuznetsoff, Matt Savage (front)

Bösendorfer, in celebration of its 175 years in business, crafted six elaborate and exquisite one-of-a-kind pianos.  Each “standard” Bösendorfer piano is handmade and takes a full year to build.  But THESE pianos are unlike anything you have ever seen. 

The Bosendorfer "Artisan" Piano

One piano is a collaboration design with Swarovski Crystals and contains over 8,000 crystals on it.  Even the lacquer of the piano has small crystals imbedded within.  Another piano is called “The Porsche” and is sleek, modern, and painted with the same paint used on the car.  There is a replica of an ornate and gold-gilded piano that had been given to the Japanese Emperor by Austria hundreds of years ago, and an inlaid piano called “The Marquis”.  There is a piano that looks like a beautiful, old-style Viennese piano, with carved latticework and curves. 

Matt performed on “The Artisan”, a piano built of 9 different kinds of wood, with ancient oak, gorgeous inlaid patterns, and a deep, rich sound that resonated of its wooden craftsmanship. 

There were several honored guests at this event, including the Austrian Consul General, the Deputy Consul General of Japan, and the CEO of Vienna-based L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GesmbH, Dkfm. Manfred Aichinger.  Matt autographed a CD for Manfred, and wrote, “To Manfred, Der Boss de Bösendorfer”.  It was cute.

It was a wonderful and extremely special evening and we very much thank Lisa and Gerhart for inviting us to share in their celebration.  If you have a chance to stop by the Bösendorfer New York showroom, definitely do it.  Bösendorfer pianos are exquisite, and the special “Anniversary” pianos will be on display through November 17^th, 2003.   Bösendorfer New York is located at 200 Lexington Ave, Suite 902 at The Designer Showroom.