Reflections

REFLECTION
I first heard of Chris Maene’s promising project in 2013. Daniel Barenboim, the internationally renowned pianist and conductor, had commissioned Maene to construct a modern instrument that possessed the characteristics of the instruments that had given voice to the innermost feelings of Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt during the 18th and 19th centuries. There was probably no better person than Chris Maene to bring this challenging project to fruition. For me it was an immense privilege to not only be able to monitor the development of the instrument at close quarters over the last years, but also to present this unique Belgian creation at the World Exposition of Milan of 2015 and to give several concerts on this great instrument in the Belgian Pavilion.

For me, the Chris Maene Straight Strung Concert Grand brings together the best of two worlds: it combines the sounds of the pianos and fortepianos of the 18th and 19th centuries with the possibilities of the modern piano: a perfectly regulated keyboard, balanced registers and a powerful sound.

The recording of this CD was an enthralling artistic process. The Chris Maene Straight Strung Concert Grand, with its warm and seemingly bottomless depths, its transparent middle range and its clear and pearly upper register, grants a wonderfully clear and pure experience in sound.

This piano gave me continual insight into the many facts of piano playing, thanks to the countless moments of reflection, consideration and introspection that it inspired: moments of genuine and purifying reflection.

There can be no musical expression without a performer, no performer without a composer, no composer without an instrument, no instrument without its builder, no builder without an inner compulsion towards musical expression.

With gratitude and in recognition of so much craftsmanship, Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort