I Did It Steinway

Last March in a post titled Wiggers you may remember that the Wigmore Hall was called the Bechstein Hall until it was seized under the 1916, Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act. However, the Steinway Hall that opened in 1875 is flourishing and I went there this week for a lunchtime recital.

It wasn’t confiscated in 1916 because Steinway was American and had already opened a Steinway Hall on 14th Street in New York in 1866. The original New York Steinway Hall had two thousand seats and could fit a hundred piece orchestra on stage. The present London Steinway Hall is sequestered in Marylebone Lane, just a biscuit’s throw from Wiggers, and is on a different scale; less Albert Hall, more like the hallway in my terraced house. It seats about fifty and has room for one piano.

I went to hear Royal College of Music graduate, Chi-Hoi Cheung, play piano sonatas by Beethoven and Scriabin, a Fantaisie by Chopin and Estampes by Debussy. He played with verve, virtuosity, elan etc and without any music. Robert tells me this is normal and they only have music if they are playing in a group so they know where the others are. Is this so? It seems to me an awfully large number of notes to remember. He is an accomplished musician (Chi-Hoi, not Robert) and has picked up a clutch of prizes. On the flip-side he is somewhat shy (still Chi-Hoi) but his confidence will grow and his stage presence develop. I expect to see him up the road at Wiggers soon. It is a privelege to be able to listen to such promising young talent and there is no charge – a top Cheap Lane tip. Here is Chi-Hoi Cheung playing Chopin without any music.