Performed on a historical Ehrbar grand piano from 1877
“My enthusiasm for piano music, and my curiosity about how the great 19th century masterpieces might have sounded on original instruments, was the real inspiration for my comprehensive involvement with historical pianos (…). When one has discovered how to play on a piano like that, then it actually becomes easier and more natural to create the atmospheric tonal colouring that characterizes Romantic piano music, than on a modern instrument.” This quotation comes from Gert Hecher who, as part of WWTBD – What Would Thomas Bernhard Do, will be playing on one of his Ehrbar pianos from 1877. Hecher will perform a selection of pieces that relate to Bernhard’s texts: preludes and fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach, and works by Richard Wagner.
Gert Hecher (*1960) is pianist and piano restorer. He lives and works in Vienna. In 1993 Hecher founded the workshop Klavier-Atelier in Vienna, where he restores historical pianos. Hecher is also the author of many books on how to restore pianos.