Grand pianos, concert pianists & the Southbank Centre: 7 things to know
The Southbank Centre is world renowned for its concert halls especially the Royal Festival Hall’s exquisite acoustics and impressive 7,866 pipe organ but our pianos have plenty of stories to tell too.
We celebrate these majestic instruments in our International Piano Series. The series presents some of the world’s most prestigious pianists and showcases the current generation of rising stars.
With a little help from our dedicated piano tuners, we’ve put together a list of interesting and unusual facts on our concert pianos and the pianists that have played them.
Our piano tuners are two of the most respected concert technicians in the industry
We’re home to eight concert grand pianos
We can make one piano into two
“You can liken it to a pit stop where you change the tyres on the Formula One car but we have a bit longer – three minutes”
Peter Salisbury, piano technician at Southbank Centre, on the changeover of a double action piano
Not all pianos sound the same
Pianists follow peculiar pre-concert rituals
John Cage’s compositions are often the most unusual pieces to be played here
Maurizio Pollini has an affinity with the Southbank Centre