Steingraeber Transducer Pianos

New forms of artistic expression

A cooperation of European “think tanks” in the field of acoustics is currently paving the way for new forms of artistic application and expression. Coordinated by Steingraeber in Bayreuth, acousticians, artists, technicians and sound engineers from Germany, France and Austria are working together on this exciting technological development, with further inspiration from a leading pianist at the University of Art and Music in Tehran.

Thanks to this cross-continental artistic and technical cooperation, there has already been a wide range of professional applications for this particular electroacoustic system. Just one example is the Donaueschinger Musiktage – the world’s largest contemporary music festival – where in 2019 and 2023 a Steingraeber & Söhne E-Transducer Concert Grand Piano was centre-stage to almost 400 musicians, performing three world premieres in a concert lasting more than two hours, in front of more than 1,000 listeners. We feel that demonstrates quite impressively how our system can enrich artistic expression in both composition and performance.

Its development began in 2015 in cooperation with artistic advisors Prof. Dr Pooyan Azadeh (University of Art and Music Tehran), through his research on multiple temperaments, and the composer Prof. Robert HP Platz from the University of Music Würzburg. Sound engineer Robert Hofmann (University of Music Vienna) developed the system’s first software for use in Charles Ives’ quarter tone piano pieces, while the transducer hardware technology – along with research into points of optimal vibration and resonance – is continually being developed and redefined by Michael Acker (SWR Experimental Studio Freiburg). The authentic, wonderfully expressive grand piano sound used in our system is not created by outdated sampling techniques, but instead by Toulouse-based Modartt/Pianoteq’s dynamic, real-time physical modelling software and its director Philippe Guillaume.

This exciting combination of a premium grand piano, authentic sound generation through physical modelling and the SWR Experimental Studio’s optimised transducer configurations allows for a wide range of professional applications (see below).

The photos on the right show Roger Admiral at the “Piano of the Future”, the Steingraeber Transducer Grand Piano, at the closing concert of the Donaueschingen Musik Tage 2023. You can enjoy the concert in full by clicking on the following link: Abschlusskonzert der Donaueschinger Musiktage 2023 – SWR Kultur

Recently students at the University of Music Nuremberg created some enchanting winter musical miniatures on the Steingraeber Transducer Grand Piano under the title “Augmented Instruments: When Tradition Meets Digital Innovation”, as part of Prof. Toni Hinterholzinger’s seminars. View here: Augmented Instruments: Augmented Instruments: Wenn Tradition auf digitale Innovation trifft – YouTube

Further institutional references:

• Chopin University Warsaw
• Academy of Music Darmstadt
• Universities of Music Würzburg and Nuremberg
• Beethoven Institute, University of Music and Performing Arts Wien

Part 1: Introduction – Contemporary and Historical Tuning and Temperament

00:00 Simon Vincent: La Mia Coppa Trabocca (2016): Introduction & Verse 1
01:37 Introduction and Contemporary Tuning and Temperament
12:07 Historical Tuning and Temperament
14:06 Bach: Toccata C-Minor BWV 911 (Excerpt) 442 Hz
14:32 Bach: Toccata C-Minor BWV 911 (Excerpt) 415 Hz
16:23 Bach: Toccata C-Minor BWV 911 (Excerpt) Werckmeister III

Part 2: Harmonics, Resonance, and Microtonal Music

00:00 Harmonics and Flageolet Notes
02:42 Microtonal Tuning
04:48 Acoustic and Electroacoustic Pianos: 2 Sounds, 1 Soundboard

Part 3: Acoustic Piano and Synthesized Sound

00:00 Combination and Counterpoint
04:21 Recording and Playback
07:59 Acoustic Piano with Pre-Composed Electronic Sounds

Part 4: Acoustic Piano with Transducer Amplification

Part 5: Interview with Michael Acker, SWR Experimentalstudio

Transducer Background and Concept

* Visitors to the VdM Congress in Stuttgart in May 2017 as well as the Cremona Piano Festival in September 2017 organised by Roberto Prosseda, and the ‘Zeit für Neue Musik’ Festival in Bayreuth in March 2018 were able to witness the trial runs at first hand.

Steingraeber Pianoteq recordings by Simon-Mary Vincent

Three Greenhills Pieces consists of three individual short movements for solo piano. Each movement sketches—rather than translates in any literal musical way—the aura of its subject, ranging from the flitting, slightly mischievous character of The Sylphid, the bold annunciatory presence of The Songthrush, and the open-hearted joy of The Spirit of Ecstasy.

The pieces were created using Pianoteq’s physically modelled Steingraeber E-272 Concert Grand Piano with a preset customized by the composer. The midi information of the performances was captured by the software and exported as digital audio.