Maene is a

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

manufacturer based in Ruiselede,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The company was founded by Albert Maene-Doutreloigne and Zulma Doutreloigne in 1938. It is currently under the direction of their son Chris Maene. The company produces replicas of historical instruments and develops new instruments like the Barenboim piano, which contained no crossed strings. From 2016 to 2022, Maene collaborated with architect

Rafael Viñoly Rafael Viñoly Beceiro (1 June 1944 – 2 March 2023) was an Uruguayan-born architect based in New York. He was the principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects, which he founded in 1983. The firm has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Ma ...

on a novel piano design with a curved ergonomic keyboard that could facilitate easier access to the lowest and highest notes simultaneously. A foot longer than a typical concert grand and like the Barenboim piano hosting no crossed strings, the Maene-Viñoly piano was completed in 2022 and premiered at the

Verbier Festival The Verbier Festival is a two week annual international music festival which is held in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier southeast of Lausanne, Switzerland. Begun by Swedish expatriate in 1994, it has attracted int ...

played by

Kirill Gerstein Kirill Gerstein () (born 23 October 1979) is a Russian-American concert pianist. He is the sixth recipient of the Gilmore Artist Award. Born in the former Soviet Union, Gerstein is an American citizen based in Berlin. Between 2007-2017, he led p ...

. In the months after Viñoly's death, the instrument was hosted at the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

and featured at a

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

concert in November of 2023 where it was played by

Jonathan Biss Jonathan Biss (born September 18, 1980) is an American pianist, teacher, and writer based in Philadelphia. He is the co-artistic director (with Mitsuko Uchida) of the Marlboro Music Festival. Early life and education Biss was born into a fami ...

. The company also provides keyboard instruments for the

Queen Elisabeth Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition (, ) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876–1 ...

.Koningin Elisabethwestrijd 2015
at

References

External links

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Daniel Barenboim designs 'radical' new piano
at Piano manufacturing companies Harpsichord manufacturing companies Manufacturing companies established in 1938 Belgian brands Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Belgium Companies based in West Flanders Belgian companies established in 1938 {{Belgium-company-stub