In Tuesday’s (4/29) Wall Street Journal, Bertrand Benoit writes about Berlin’s Piano Salon Christophori, “a former tram-repair shop with free booze and a collection tin for donations. In just 10 years, Christoph Schreiber, a neurologist and spare-time piano restorer, has turned his workshop and occasional rehearsal room into Berlin’s quirkiest recital space for visiting pianists. With its industrial air, peculiar acoustics, experimental spirit and period instruments, the Piano Salon Christophori has attracted prestigious pianists and other soloists … [Schreiber’s] revolutionary concept has struck at least three chords in this fiercely egalitarian city…. Not everyone in the music business gets the doctor’s ‘Gypsy style,’ though.… Two years ago, Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen canceled all future public performances at the salon” after the club publicly advertised what Chen thought would be a private performance. “ ‘What if a known critic shows up? One bad review in a big German paper can cause a huge amount of damage,’ [said] Anastasia Boudanoque, the artist’s manager in New York…. [Schreiber’s] next project: A chamber music festival that will run over three weeks in September.… The 48 guest artists will stay at friends’ and their fees won’t exceed about $700.”
Posted April 30, 2014
