Imperial Concert Grand Bosendorfer
In 2023, Saint Andrew’s received a grant from the Valley Foundation to purchase a new piano of concert quality. The intention behind acquiring the instrument was to enrich the services on Sunday, and host concerts that would feature established artists, as well as the best up-and-coming students and non-professional pianists in the Bay Area.
Michael Burroughs, Director of Music, who is also a pianist and organist, conducted a search, and connected with Wells Piano in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Through them, Burroughs found what he thought would be elusive – a well-cared for, privately-owned Imperial Bosendorfer. He arranged for Shawn Skylark, a Bay Area Bosendorfer technician, to revoice and regulate the piano, and as they worked closely together, it immediately blossomed into a world-class instrument.
Very large, with a complete eight-octave range that brings the keyboard to ninety-seven, the Imperial Concert Grand has a rich, orchestral sound and deep resonance due to its massive soundboard that enhances volume and projection. Bosendorfer only produces a limited number each year in their manufacturing facility near Vienna, and each one is handcrafted by artisans from naturally air-dried spruce wood found in high-altitude regions of the Austrian Alps.
Why are there nine extra keys? In 1900, Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni was transcribing Johann Sebastian Bach’s organ works for piano, and recognized he would need additional bass notes to echo the powerful, immersive low notes of a pipe organ. In response, Ludwig Bosendorfer built the first prototype of this unusual instrument, and production has continued to this day.
More than one pianist has been confused by the extra-long keyboard and landed on the wrong octave. Therefore, keys are sometimes covered or painted black to give pianists visual clarity. While the vast majority of piano compositions are not written for these additional low notes, a small body of work features them. This large instrument also offers sympathetic resonance, so that even when those keys are not played, their strings vibrate in response to other notes, creating acoustic depth with complex, organ-like overtones, delighting performers and audiences.