What if I don't reach my goal?What happens to existing donations?

I've now been asked this question several times and so I think it is worth a post.

Q: What if I don't reach my goal? What happens to existing donations?

A: At some point, if I still haven't reached my goal, then enough is enough! I still plan on providing free recordings, but will eventually buckle down and do one of the following:

1. If I have enough money, then I'll downgrade my wishful thinking from a Steinway model B to a Boston Grand (still made by the Steinway company) - pictured to the right. These pianos are still excellent and are about half the price of a real Steinway.
2. If I still can't afford a new piano and there is no obvious way that I can use the money to improve the quality of my music and recordings, then I'll donate the funds to the Gina Bachauer Foundation or some other worthy piano-related institution.

What happens once I get the piano?What are the long-term goals?

The short-term goal of this project is obvious - to provide more and better free classical music by improving the instrument I use to play and record with. Additionally, it is to offer an act of appreciation and dedication to all those who have been willing to help me to do this -- by "signing" each doner's name on the lid of the piano so that it is permanently visible and offers a reminder that there are still many people out there who appreciate classical piano music.

But I have an even bigger dream in mind... to continue this endeavor and provide other pianists with the same opportunity! If this project works out and I am able to achieve my goal, then I am hoping to turn Sign My Piano into a non-profit organization dedication to providing talented pianists with better instruments.

At the Gina Bachauer Piano Festival that was held last year in Salt Lake City, Utah, I was extremely touched by a story of a young pianist from another country who did not have a piano of his own to practice with. He had to travel quite far just to find a piano to practice with. Despite the difficulties he faced, he continued to practice and has since been involved in several international competitions, including the Bachauer competition. Through that competition, he stayed with a family who raised enough funds --just in their own neighborhood -- to purchase and deliver a piano to this talented, young artist. It changed his life forever!

Now imagine if we can amplify that same experience a hundred times over! If this initial endeavor is a success, then I hope to provide other artists the same opportunity that I have been given.

So that, in a nutshell, is what I am hoping to accomplish through the Sign My Piano initiative. It is a great goal and I am hoping that there are enough classical music lovers out there to help make it a reality.

Why a Steinway Model B?

That's easy... because a Steinway Model D is too big for my living room :)





But what's so special about a Steinway piano? What makes it worth three times as much as a mass-produced piano of any other brand? James Barron helps to answer that question through his 280 page book, Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand. My wife bought me that book as a Christmas gift in 2006. If you REALLY want to learn more about what makes Steinway so amazing, then read that book. However, if you want my short version...



... because a steinway becomes a part of the musical art and not just a tool for sound...



A Steinway piano will alter the way a pianist plays because it gives such a wide range of colors and dynamics that other pianos simply cannot provide. With a typical mass-produced piano I find myself fighting with the quirks and limits of the piano as I struggle to get the sound and expression that I am looking for. And, quite frankly, I can almost never get it. But when I play a Steinway it is as if the piano becomes a part of me; almost as if it were a living thing, it seems to predict and enhance what I am trying to express. It is almost as if the keys can sense exactly what my fingers are trying to tell it through just the slightest variation of touch; and it responds - magnificently.



I'll leave the technical details up to James Barron to talk about. He does a wonderful job and if you read the book, you'll probably want to go out and buy a Steinway yourself... or at the least, you'll come out with an amplified appreciation for what a spectacular instrument it truly is.