EDMOND—On August 1, Pastor General Gerald Flurry announced the procurement of a second Steinway Model D from Hamburg, Germany, to be housed in Armstrong Auditorium. In November, two officials, pcg music director Ryan Malone, and Herbert W. Armstrong College music instructor Mark Jenkins, will travel to Hamburg to select between six Model Ds. They will be assisted by a professional selector, and will have the opportunity to tour the factory. The piano will be flown to Dallas and be trucked to Edmond, arriving in late December.
According to Mr. Malone, the core need for a second piano is determined by the industry standard. Artists expect at least two high-quality pianos to choose from. Every piano, like a fingerprint, is different, and different pianos suit different artists. Different pianos will suit a different repertoire.
Mr. Malone also pointed out that two pianos will allow for further performance options; in particular, two-piano recitals, perhaps even piano concerto competitions where the orchestral part is played on the second piano. Even from a mechanical standpoint, a Steinway concert grand piano has well over 12,000 separate parts—therefore having a second piano as a backup to any event is necessary.
Not only do artists expect to choose their piano, the quality of artists that will perform in Armstrong Auditorium will expect the very best piano. Patrons attending a recital in a brand new theater with superb acoustics will expect the pianos to match. The pianos need to be of such quality that it will allow the theater to perform at its potential.
A large part of selecting a new piano is determined by the parameters of the auditorium. The Steinway agent who sold the Church the new piano and the local Steinway technician are both excited about the seating capacity of the auditorium. Both separately agreed that 800 seats is the ideal size for listening to music. Many concert halls are much larger. To select a piano for a large concert hall requires choosing a model with outright power, which Steinway make. However, the advantage in selecting a piano for Armstrong Auditorium is that a piano with a more refined and beautiful sound can be selected.
Even though both Hamburg and New York Steinway pianos are made to the same exacting standard, Herbert W. Armstrong chose Hamburg because of subtle variations in construction at the time. Several variations still exist which contribute to a difference in the tone. Having two Hamburg Steinways means they will complement each other, not only tonally, but also visually, as case design also varies between the two continents.
Steinway supplies its Hamburg instruments to Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia, whereas the New York factory provides for North and South America. From a marketing perspective, two Hamburg Steinway pianos in the same concert hall will provide a unique situation, further differentiating Armstrong Auditorium from comparative venues.
Ron Connors, the head Steinway technician from the New York factory, believes a concert grand in typical circumstances, where the piano is used for heavy performances every week, will only perform at its prime for eight years. The current piano, built in 1983, was obtained in an auction from Ambassador Auditorium in 2004. Recently it has undergone regular piano repairs with the replacement of hammers in order to sustain its life and recapture much of the original tone. Repairs aside, it is still 26 years old, but thankfully has only had intermittent use. A second Model D will help preserve the life of this crown jewel from Ambassador.
