5 things to know about grand pianos, concert pianists and the Southbank Centre

And with a little help from our dedicated piano tuners, we’ve pulled together some interesting and unusual facts about our concert pianos and the pianists that have played them.

Starting out as a piano technicians with Steinway, Peter Salisbury and Jonathan Heard – our in-house piano tuner and resident instrument technician, respectively – have worked with almost every famous international concert pianist who has played in London over the last 30 years.

We’re home to eight concert grand pianos

We have one of the world’s largest collections of concert grand pianos. Our high-quality pianos have been used on award-winning recordings and are regularly loaned out to other prestigious venues to be played by internationally-renowned pianists. Heading up piano maintenance, Salisbury says: ‘we have a special situation at the Southbank Centre. Jon and I have the backing to go out and supply the very best’.

We can make one piano into two

Salisbury and Heard have pioneered the double action concept at the Southbank Centre. For the non-classical buffs amongst us, this basically means producing an identical keyboard and action mechanism that can be quickly changed over. Essentially, we’ve got two very different instruments within one. Why you might ask? There are many benefits to pianos with second actions including reduction in cost, saving on storage space, only one piano requires tuning, and finally, pianists have more choice. We’ve six double actions at the Southbank Centre, which is the largest amount of any venue in the world.

Not all pianos sound the same

You might think that all grand pianos sound the same but the pianos we have in Royal Festival Hall are mainly used in concerto performances, so this requires the instrument to project the sound to fill the 2,900 seated hall. Whereas, Queen Elizabeth Hall is mainly used for solo recitals and due to its smaller capacity may require more intimacy of tone and clarity.

Salisbury gives an example of these differences in a story involving two leading pianists trying out a number of our pianos before their performances: ‘They both disliked the pianos that the other pianist had chosen. Neither could see why the other would like it. That’s exactly the reason why we have a number of pianos set up in different styles and chosen in the first place to reflect that concept of sound. Each has its devotees and each offers different possibilities in the correct hands. A “one piano fits all” offered to the level of artists we have performing here is pointless. It’s a no-compromise service that’s offered as these are the world’s greatest artists.’

Pianists follow peculiar pre-concert rituals

From spending hours finding the perfect stool to making sure their hands are at the optimum temperature, world-class pianists can be particularly superstitious when it comes to their pre-concert rituals. 

Salisbury explains more: ‘Shura Cherkassky, who studied under Josef Hoffman, had certain rituals when he played here. He always asked for non-fluffy, linen towels. Finding the perfect piano stool would take at least two hours because he wanted to try a minimum of eight – normally we offer two. He would practice so slowly like the way Hoffman taught him. He’d put his finger in the middle of key and play so slowly that the rehearsal took four hours instead of two. And this apparently is a way of you knowing what you are going to play, but not using motor memory. Before the performance, he’d say “I need my hands warmed up”, so he’d put his hands out in front of me. By this stage, all the backstage knowing the routine had conveniently disappeared because whoever was left at the door had to do the warming of the hands.’

John Cage’s compositions are often the most unusual pieces to be played here

The invention of the “prepared piano” is usually traced back to American composer John Cage. It essentially means placing objects on or between the strings to alter the sound of the piano. 

Salisbury gives us more detail: ‘We have to make things up for that and put things into the piano to turn it into something like a Gamelan. Cage is quite precise with his instructions as to what he wants you to do but there is some leeway where you have to use a bit of imagination when he wants it to be more improvised. You have to work out a way of doing it so as not damaging the piano’.