Henningsvær Church
After several years of good ticket sales, the Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival was left with a financial surplus after the festival in 2016. The board of the festival the discussed what this equity could be used for. At the same time, there was no concert grand piano in Henningsvær, where the festival is based every summer.
STEINWAY & SON'S MODEL x
It didn't take long before the idea of a separate concert grand piano came up. The start-up of the Lofoten Piano Festival in 2014 also entailed moving more concert grand pianos than usual. Henningsvær Church's own concert grand piano would solve several challenges. There was also the desire to make the church a permanent concert venue during the festival. But some new Steinway & Sons model D - then at a price of approx. 1.6 million - there were no funds for it.
The festival's first concert grand piano
Also at this time, Trond Hellstrøm had on Hellstrom Piano in Oslo a newly renovated Steinway grand piano & Sons model C standing. The instrument was built as early as 1890. Again, Christian Ihle Hadland was used as a consultant, and after an hour's testing he could confidently recommend that we buy the instrument. The price was set just under NOK 400,000.
The newly purchased instrument was inaugurated during a separate concert in Henningsvær Church a week before the festival in 2017. After another record-breaking ticket sale (1.1 million) in 2017, the instrument was paid for in cash.