It was just over a year ago that changes at Steinway and Sons, mostly behind-the-scenes to that point, began to be visible to the general public. They would be leaving their historic location near Carnegie Hall and moving to a new state-of-the-art facility a dozen blocks south.
Like their old location, this one will have a performance space. It will also have a recording studio and, in a nod to their past, a space which is known affectionately as "The Basement," which is where Sergei Rachmaninoff and Vladimir Horowitz met for the first time.
Helene Grimaud told NPR writer Jeff Lunden that her heart begins to race as she approaches the entrance, such is the excitement and anticipation of entering that historic building. She and hundreds of other pianists have walked through those doors and headed to the basement to try out pianos to use both in performance and to purchase.
We now have what could be a sneak preview of how the hall and showroom, to be located on the Avenue of the Americas in New York City, will look.
In a recent article in De Zeen Magazine, they took an extensive look at the recently opened Steinway showroom in Tokyo. The architecture reflects the inner workings of the instrument in amazing ways.
You can see a slideshow of Steinway's flagship store, done by Salt, a local architecture studio, here.
Here is part of a performance from last October by the Five Browns as part of Steinway's Live from the Factory Floor series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WOivqBPlcc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWsjRK-yQvk
