Kirill Gerstein rehearses Liszt before the unveiling of the new "Maene-Viñoly" with curved keyboard

EN How did Pianos Maene, a family business from Flanders (Belgium), team up with Rafael Viñoly, the New York architect of Manhattan's tallest towers, to develop a new concept in concert pianos... with a curved keyboard and fan-shaped strings? This is the story I tell you (IN FRENCH) in L'Echo, the Brussels business daily: bit.ly/3zteMaH
FR Comment Pianos Maene, une entreprise familiale de Flandre, s'est associée à Rafael Viñoly, l'architecte new-yorkais des plus hautes tours de Manhattan pour développer un nouveau concept de #piano de concert... à clavier courbé et cordes en éventail ? C'est l'histoire que je vous raconte dans L'Echo, le quotidien économique de Bruxelles: bit.ly/3zteMaH
NL Hoe heeft Piano's Maene, een familiebedrijf uit West-Vlaanderen, samen met Rafael Viñoly Architects, de New Yorkse architect van de hoogste torens van Manhattan, een nieuw concept voor concertpiano's met gekromd klavier en waaiervormige snaren kunnen ontwikkelen? Dit is het verhaal dat ik vertel in De Tijd vandaag! bit.ly/3b7xGdJ

[@user-jk2lv1vt5t]

Dig the matching curved bench

[@jimbuxton2187]

This piano has a beautiful sound!

[@dacovaz]

Proficiat Chris en Rafael! Hij speelt inderdaad heerlijk toen ik hem bij jullie uitprobeerde.

[@chivaarlette9359]

Extraordinaire se piano! sûrement bien plus confortable pour jouer. Merci

[@carlhopkinson]

Makes sense.

[@chris93703]

Are the keys closer together? Is it easier doing those impossible reaches on the piano?

[@zbaby82]

Is it more comfortable and easier to play?

[@allthenamesrtook]

As a pianist, i can say with certainty that it won't. This would require consierable unlearning of where keys are in terms of muscle memory. While they are in a similar position there is enough movement that when pianists just miss a black key (sharps and flats) to play an adjoining white note, this would cause them to actually play the black key by accident.

[@jasperfeldschuh3644]

​@@allthenamesrtookI'm also a pianist and I think that in the long run, the curve would make most things easier as it is more ergonomic. I do agree with you that it would take a lot of learning and it isn't really feasible considering how much they cost

[@allthenamesrtook]

@@jasperfeldschuh3644 I don't think it does make things more ergonomic, not in any meaningful way. Due to how a curve works, look at the keys, they barely actually move from their original position and are rotated more than anything else. The top of the keys are now further away from the pianist while the front of them has barely moved at all their original relative position. At most, the black keys are now where the white keys were. Also, it would be harder to play. This is because the middle of the keys can still be played as if straight due to your arms being closer as it's right in front however as you move to the sides you'd need to adjust how you're playing as it would feel more curved as you've have less access to the top of the keys due to them being further away. The amount of movement of the keys would make absolutely zero difference in ergonomics. Especially as the extreme ends of the piano where there is most movement are played the least. It's a none solution to a none problem.

[@jasperfeldschuh3644]

@@allthenamesrtook when moving you hand up and down the keyboard, it is easier and more natural to do it in a slight curve, so leaps would probably be easier

[@xixihu]

I agree

[@yongli4304]

Will be a niche market only. The slight ergonomic design is an interesting idea. For centuries, pianists have utilized body/shoulder movement to play the whole keyboard.

[@ekstrapolatoraproksymujacy412]

yeah, except that 200 years ago pianos didn't have 88 keys and they weren't that wide...

[@johnvenable199]

20 years ago I designed a curved keyboard, and did my own technical drawings of this that i created in AUTOCAD. But, what i did was designed it to fit into a normal, existing grand piano. No fan shaped string layout or custom harp, frame or soundboard, or action. What i did was creat a new keystick shape. The keysticks i designed create the curvature by being slightly narrower at the ends and tapered slightly wider between black keys, then they extend to the unmodified normal action locations. I can show you my drawings if you like. Just LIKE my comment and give me a message and I'll reply and we can talk about it. My name is John and i live in California, near SF.

[@southpark4151]

The saying - we do it not because it's hard -- but because ----- we have lots of time on our hands.

[@BrassicaRappa]

Uh... How do you pull the action? 😅

[@tomryberg9650]

Omg, seriously

[@georgenorris2657]

Domenico Scarlatti was so fat that he had a special harpsichord made curved like this to fit around his stomach so it´s not a new idea. I think I would have to sit further away than I normally do to keep control of extreme registers.

[@jamesbastani4295]

Hmm…. I’m not sure how the mechanics of it is going to hold up over time. Surely this design requires serious adjustments to the keybed and the action.

[@laowei7279]

...and perhaps with a rotating chair as well, ...and pianists may grow a larger beer belly now (good for Johannes Brahms!)

[@alexalexy9358]

Il n'a rien inventé le brevet a déjà été déposé il y a plus de 50 ans par la pianiste française Monique de la bruchollerie ,mais jamais exploite

[@XUMbxl]

Des pianos à claviers ergonomiques ont effectivement déjà existé au début du XXe siècle, mais ils étaient accolés à des structures standard, ce qui donnait beaucoup d'inertie aux extrémités. La différence, ici, c'est que l'ensemble de la structure suit la courbure initiale: le bloc mécanique, les étouffoirs et le cadre s'arrondissent également. Une prouesse technique qui n'est pas sans poser d'autres problèmes avec un plan de cordes qui part en faisceau et complique la conception de la table d'harmonie, en plusieurs parties. Une version à cordes croisées, sans doute plus puissante, est en passe d'être inaugurée. A suivre...