Futuristic Hungarian piano has lift-off

Budapest, January 20 (MTI) – Is it a bird, a plane or an exotic supercar? A new Hungarian-developed concert piano, developed under the inspiration of Kossuth Prize-winning pianist Gergely Boganyi, was presented to the press in Budapest on Tuesday.

The sleek, futuristic Zengafons piano, which would perhaps not look out of place on the set of Star Wars, will make its public debut at the Budapest Academy of Music on Wednesday.

Among its novelties is that its sound board — which is made of a multilayered composite rather than wood — and casing are suspended in the air thanks to a cantilevered construction beneath the keyboard.

Musicologist Andras Batta said the Boganyi piano “is rooted in the Lisztian tradition but points to the future.”

To illustrate the piano’s sound, Boganyi performed two Debussy pieces, followed by a short recital by four-time Grammy nominee US jazz pianist Gerald Clayton.

It may look aerodynamic and robotic. But this piano has a “more human, more friendly sound” than the contemporary ones and requires less maintenance, Boganyi said, adding that its qualities had even surprised its developers.

Zengafons has made two “Boganyis” so far and won 126 million forints (EUR 396,000) in EU funding and 60 million forints (EUR 189,000) from the National Bank of Hungary for its development.

The piano has already been patented in several countries, including China and the United States, Zengafons’ chief executive Istvan Komoroczky said, adding that plans are afoot to market it worldwide.

Gabor Reisinger, head of the New York-based Klavierhaus, said new instrument testifies that “art has gained the upper hand over industry”. He said his company would spare no effort to put the Boganyi piano on the “international piano map”.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters