Recording in a Dream Setting: Pianist Maya Irgalina
When renowned product designer and interior design firm leader, Tom Dixon (Design Research Studio), asked us to collaborate on an incredible interior project in London’s most anticipated residential tower, we were delighted to craft an extraordinary piano for him.
Once the project was complete, we invited Maya Irgalina, an acclaimed classical pianist based in London, to the apartment to play the instrument and help us to introduce it to the world.
Maya Irgalina, Pianist
Maya has Tatar and Belarusian cultural roots but is long London-based, with a cosmopolitan musical identity and sunlit personality.
Her high “technical prowess with aristocratic refinement and notes filled with loving care” open up multiple realms—from charismatic and elusive French music to Spanish impressionism.
Maya’s sense of fun balances her capacity for the dark, intensely mysterious in music. She performs internationally as a soloist, and in duo with lieder and operatic singers.
The Home of the Collector - and Home of the PH Grand Piano
In the East of London, in Canary Wharf, lies the new residential tower by the famous Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron. On the 56th floor are bespoke duplex apartments, in which Herzog & de Meuron have carried out the architectural design, as well as penthouse interior design.
Complementing the architectural approach, Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio has created its own immersive interior design concept for the penthouses- the “Home of the Collector.” This penthouse features our specially crafted Legacy Edition PH Grand Piano.
The Space Shapes the Artist
Pianist Maya Irgalina came to the penthouse to record two pieces and to get to know the PH Grand Piano.
“I have performed in many venues in different countries, but when I got a call from an old friend, Christine Eggert, inviting me to record on their PH piano, I didn’t know what I’d gotten myself into, and it was a dream day.
“I recorded two of my favourite pieces, and the process made me think how the space shapes the artist.
“I play a lot of classical music which was written in the 18th and 19th century… And I’ve always noticed that when you play it in the setting of the century it was written in, it feels like a Time Machine.
“The Canary Wharf tower where I performed on the PH piano, felt like a time machine going into the future! You go to the 56th floor - your ears actually pop on the way up (that is the effect I have always imagined time machines would have)!”
“I was excited about the opportunity to embark on a project with PH Pianos. I think that designers are unique, because they are actually creating the objects of future. With the PH Piano, it’s hard to believe the design is actually almost a century old. When I saw it, immediately it won my heart - ‘what an exquisite art object’, I thought.
“I was scared to touch it! And it became a very heartwarming moment when I realised that it was actually a great instrument.”
To give a broad spectrum of the capabilities and sound of the instrument, Maya selected two gems from the piano repertoire: pieces that demand a high-level instrument played by a very skilled musician in order to make their meaning. “I chose to record Frederic Chopin and Frederic Mompou,” shares Maya. “One is a very well-known composer and the other deserves to be much better known in the public eye.”
Chopin’s Barcarolle
One of Chopin’s last lengthy pieces is his Barcarolle, an extremely beautiful work. Beloved by audiences and musicians alike, it is also one of the more difficult piano pieces, even for the most seasoned classical pianists. It is a transcendental piece of music, elevating the type of ornamental expressiveness that defines Chopin’s music to an even higher level. Its gorgeous melody with filigreed, flowing accompaniment is masterfully played in this video recording from the penthouse apartment in Canary Wharf.
Mompou and El Lago
Frederic Mompou, a Catalan composer who lived through both world wars, enjoyed much success in his life. He lived in Barcelona for much of his life and his music is colorful, imaginative and evocative. From the 1920s onward, his name was heard as well and as often as his French contemporaries Ravel, Debussy, Satie, etc., and Mompou became a public figure in the high Parisian society for many years. Today, the Mompou Foundation preserves, publicizes, and promotes the work of Frederico Mompou. El Lago is evocative and beautiful, and Maya’s sensitive playing brings the piece alive.
Playing the PH Grand Piano
Maya has an ebullient personality that made the day of recording easy and fun. After the recording, we asked her about the experience of playing the PH Grand Piano.
“As soon as I started playing, I noticed how well it worked. It pacified my racing thoughts, and at the same time that I felt part of the future with this design, it also transported the music of the past into today. Playing Chopin’s Barcarolle, it sounded maybe even more relevant and soothing.
“This piano is a futuristic dream-come-true, and it changes the perspective for the artist and, the listeners too. It can inspire new music, or give the new dimension to the music of the past, and it certainly induces some exciting change of perception in the live music experience,” says Irgalina.
It has been a pleasure crafting this special PH Grand Piano, and working with Maya Irgalina in London. We look forward to the next collaboration together!