By Bunsho Mifune
It is recorded this full-concert Hamburg Steinway grand piano arrived at the port of Osaka as a brand-new one in September 1926. The discoloration of ages had been great when it was transferred to me in 1994. There was a chance for us to give it a thorough overhauling at a craft center in Higashi-nada district, Kobe. The overhaul was over earlier than the scheduled date, and the piano returned home to Okayama. That was why it narrowly escaped from Great Hanshin Earthquake (January 17, 1995) by just a few days.
Thus this piano saved its own life, having had a hair breadth escape. Therefore, it clearly indicates the power of fate. In order to get the most I started building a small hall for the sake of the piano. Then first-class pianists have come to play upon it. In the end Mrs. Ruth Slenczynska, the legendary pianist, visited Japan seven times in order to perform upon it.
Twenty-plus concerts including the last recital, recordings of ten CDs and so on this piano largely contributed to the creation of historic art with masters, grace to Steinway’s best sounds at the age of Rachmaninov.
