Stamsund Church
The first concert with a new concert grand piano in Stamsund Church was held on 21 December 2012. Fittingly, this was also the birthday of fundraising general Robert Solberg. He put in a lot of work so that Stamsund church - the church with perhaps the very best acoustics in Lofoten - got its concert grand piano.
STEINWAY & SON'S MODEL D, 2012
Where several other fundraising campaigns had received help from several banks and private institutions, the fundraising campaign in Stamsund became a longer canvas to paint. It was mainly private individuals who made their many but smaller contributions.
Robert Solberg was able to collaborate with the artist Scott Thoe. He made a painting printed in the number of 88, the same number as the keys of a grand piano. The print impersonated the famous pianist Arthur Rubinstein, and was sold to raise money for the grand piano. This was of considerable help.
Throne Irby in Steinway Norway naturally watched closely from the sidelines, also in this matter. He eventually realized that the collection could take so long that he might not be the head of Steinway Norge when the collection was finished. But he still had a plan.
FROM WORLD-FAMOUS STUDIO TO STAMSUND
In the famous recording studio Rainbow Studio in Oslo, a 7-year-old Steinway & Son's model D. He believed that he could persuade the management there to buy a new one, so that he could sell the old one on to Stamsund for a much more reasonable price. And so it was.
While a new Steinway & Son's model D then cost approx. 1.5 million, Stamsund was offered an almost new instrument for half the price. Christian Ihle Hadland was used as a consultant, and he thought it was not necessary to try the instrument. He commented briefly: "this grand piano is tuned and looked after weekly, so it must be one of Norway's best!".
It was Ketil Bjørnstad at the Steinway factory in Hamburg who selected this grand piano for Rainbow Studios. He describes this incident vividly in his book "The world that was mine - the last decade". As a speaker during the Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival 2016, Bjørnstad had no idea that the grand piano in Stamsund came from Rainbow Studios. However, he recognized both the timbre and the mechanics of the grand piano. He has previously recorded several of his records on this very instrument. In an e-mail to general manager Knut Kirkesæther, he writes: "In my opinion, the instrument has gotten much better in these 16 years! An absolutely brilliant instrument!”
Recordings at the concert grand piano in Stamsund Church:
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Jan Gunnar Hoff and Marianne Beate Kielland: "Terra Nove" (2015)
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Joachim Carr: Hymnis and Fabilus (2020)
Recordings on the concert grand piano before it came to Stamsund Church (Rainbow Studio):
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Kjetil Bjørnstad: "The Way Through the Woods" (2004)
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Various others: Jon Balke, Lars Jansson, Steve Kuhn, Christian Wallumred, Carsten Dahl, Jørn Øien, Helge Lien, Bugge Wesseltoft, Helge Iberg, Tord Gustavsen, Jan Gunnar Hoff, Erlend Skumsvoll, Julie Hülsmann, Steve Dobrogosz, Svein Olav Herstad, Olga Konkova