The perfect mood – set sail with a Steinway
The music glides through the room. This best describes the sound of a Steinway grand piano being played. On board the SEA CLOUD SPIRIT, this feast for the ears is combined with a unique fostering of culture and talent.
A deft touch for a unique sound
With a light movement of his fingers, Ulrich Gerhartz plays a note on the grand piano. First, he dampens the string with a special wedge. Compared to the same note an octave higher, the piano tuner can hear a minute dissonance. Gerhartz gently turns the tuning peg of the string a little tighter with the tuning hammer, giving it a little more tension. The result is remarkable. The music seems to glide through the room. The purity of its sound is rendered sublime by its volume and dynamics. Gerhartz beams. “There it is – the unmistakable sound of a Steinway.” Music fans regard the phenomenon with awe and respect. The sound can be felt and heard but not physically measured, even with the most sensitive devices.
Perfectly tuned to the artist’s wishes
Ulrich Gerhartz’s enthusiasm when he talks about the instrument quickly shows: Steinway is his world. He learned the craft of piano-making around 36 years ago at the legendary grand piano manufacturer in Hamburg. His career has long since taken him to his adopted home of England and music houses all over the world. Since the mid-1990s, as the Director of Concerts and Artists’ Services, he has been on hand whenever one of the great piano virtuosos gives a concert anywhere in the world. “Every artist has a different requirement for a Steinway grand piano,” he says. “One wants an instrument that responds and reacts very quickly. The other one prefers a more lyrical, warmer sound.” Thanks to his extensive experience, Gerhartz can prepare the instrument for the artist’s requirements prior to their performance.
Fostering young, emerging talents in cooperation
But this time, Ulrich Gerhartz has swapped the stage of a big concert house for the decks of a ship and a small, almost intimate, lounge. He is aboard the three-masted full-ship SEA CLOUD SPIRIT, which is turned every year into a sailing concert hall for some very exclusive trips. “The fact that the new windjammer, like its older sister SEA CLOUD II, has a Steinway grand piano, is very special,” says the expert. For the shipping company, the purchase of the valuable instrument with its rich tones was a conscious decision: “SEA CLOUD CRUISES and Steinway fostering promising young talent together,” reports Gerhartz.
Intimate performances for pianists and guests
Young artists from the Steinway Prizewinner Concerts Network, through which Steinway fosters the talent of the best up-and-coming pianists in the world, regularly appear aboard the two tall ships. After thrilling audiences on big stages, these onboard concerts are a unique experience for the pianists. “There’s a very intimate atmosphere,” says Ulrich Gerhartz, who regularly accompanies these concert tours. And because the artists and guests also meet on board after the music recitals, a special bond forms between them and their audience. Such a personal exchange is rarely possible in the regular concert business and it therefore makes an important contribution to fostering talent — as well as providing cultural entertainment for our guests.
Exclusive concerts in unique locations
Supporting culture is an important part of the mission of SEA CLOUD CRUISES. The company flies the flag for art and music both with its travel programs and at its headquarters. Besides guest performances by Steinway pianists on board, the Hamburg-based company regularly hosts special music events on its music-themed trips, such as the recent concert by the Danish ensemble Trio Con Brio in the new Danish Radio stations in Copenhagen. The company’s cultural spectrum is broad, ranging from classical music to French chanson and modern jazz. In the field of the visual arts, exclusive guided tours of major European art houses as well as a visit to the Art Fair on Germany’s popular island of Sylt are part of its program. A major art event is already planned for next summer: On the journey from Kiel to Hamburg (31.07.-10.08.2023), SEA CLOUD SPIRIT will head for Oslo, where guests can expect an exclusive guided tour of the new Munch Museum.
A conscious decision to purchase a genuine Steinway
Against this cultural backdrop, the shipping company did not think twice about opting for a Steinway grand piano to equip the new SEA CLOUD SPIRIT, as it did with the SEA CLOUD II. These instruments are manufactured by hand in New York and Hamburg: construction and tuning take about one year per grand piano. Even after decades, they retain the same sound characteristics as when they left the factory.
“Each instrument has its own character,” says Ulrich Gerhartz. In addition, each instrument has its own story. “This one dates back to 1983,” he explains. The grand piano aboard SEA CLOUD SPIRIT once belonged to a school principal whose heirs returned the instrument to Steinway so that it could be enjoyed by music enthusiasts and young talents alike for another life cycle. Before being installed on board the tall ship, the grand piano was carefully and lovingly tested at the Steinway workshop in Hamburg and renovated almost to its original condition.
When Chopin’s “Raindrop” prelude softly plays
At the latest when young talents or guests with extensive piano experience sit at the keys and play Frédéric Chopin’s “Raindrop” prelude, the piano’s story comes alive again. “It was the previous owner’s favorite piece,” says Ulrich Gerhartz, before he gets back to tuning the piano. With a steady rhythm, he plays a note again and again with slowly increasing intensity – just as in Chopin’s prelude. And as the unmistakable Steinway sound drifts through the room, raindrops seem to fall gently onto the sea around the SEA CLOUD SPIRIT.