A piano designed by Leonardo Da Vinci has been played for the first time since it was invented five centuries ago. Except, to make things more intriguing, it's not really a piano. In fact, the inventor called it a "viola organist," and it is part-harpsichord, part-viola, part-organ. Da Vinci, himself, never actually built the instrument, but after all this time, a Polish devotee of his talents has completed his hero's work.
The Polish pianist Sławomir Zubrzycki has out together premiered the instrument at the Krakow Academy of Music. And at a quick glance, it does look like a piano, a very beautiful one. The keyboard has the expected white and black keys. But none of the 61 strings has a hammer. Rather they are bowed by horse-tail hair that move on four spinning wheels--operated by a pedal underneath the keyboard that the player presses. Press reports say that Zubrzycki spent 5,000 hours making the instrument.
Will it have a further life? Will others take it up? That remains to be seen. To be more widely played, one or two top-rank musicians will be needed to investigate its charms. Or composers. Will we yet see the LIVESTREAM of Nico Muhly concerto for Da Vinci harpsichord-organ=viola da gamba and orchestra? There's a thought.
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