Thanks to the generous patrons of the 2012 Eastern University Music Gala and an anonymous donor, the Music Department purchased a famous Concert Grand Piano from Edith Finton Rieber. We are delighted to have this wonderful addition to our program. Having a piano of this caliber enhances the instruction and the performance quality for our students.
Renowned pianist and lecturer, Dr. Mia Chung, gave a performance and lesson on campus to Eastern music students and staff. Dr. Chung presented Beethoven's Appassionata #23 in F minor, Opus 57.
You may be interested in more information about the history of this particular instrument. This notice was posted by Steinway and Sons in February 1983:
Steinway selects its finest concert grand pianos for use in the various Concert and Artist Departments throughout the country. These pianos are then available solely for the use of Steinway artists appearing in concert. These instruments have no serial numbers but instead are assigned concert department numbers. In the artist community certain instruments gain notoriety as particulary superb pianos by these numbers. One of the most famous of the "cream of the crop" instruments and certainly the most revered piano in Philadelphia history was known as CD-396. From our bank of ten Steinway concert pianos CD-396 has been selected and performed upon by numerous artists including:
- Victor Borge
- Van Cliburn
- Vladimir Ashkenazy
- Andre Watts
- Susan Starr
- Natalie Hinderas
- Peter Nero
- Keith Jarrett
- Chick Corea
- Rudolph Serkin
- Alfred Brendel
- McCoy Tyner
After a Philadelphia appearance, world-renowned concert artist John Browning called Henry Steinway in New York and said: "396 is the ultimate Steinway. It should be taken back to the factory immediately and used as the model for what every Steinway should feel and sound like."