In March 2016, the Steinway Series was inaugurated at the Bellas Artes auditorium in San Miguel. Every concert in the recital series had two specific features: the auditorium’s Steinway was used either as a solo or ensemble instrument; and every concert raised money and recognition for Libros para Todos, a wonderful nonprofit organization that inspires young people to read books.
The series ran for six and a half years, until October 2022, at an average of about eight concerts per year. The series maintained a consistently high standard. Performers included Grammy-winning songwriter Jesse Harris; Cuban piano soloist Fidel Leal; New York cabaret singer and pianist Mark Hartman; jazz singer Iraida Noriega; Lady Zen in a tribute to Nina Simone; Ken Bichel creating piano improvisations based on audience suggestions; avant-garde pianist Nicole Brancato; jazz pianists Gabriel Hernandez, Daniel Wong and Doug Robinson; pianist Susan Varcoe providing live accompaniment to silent movies; saxophone quartet Anacrusax with pianist Edith Ruiz; Trio Nova Mundi with pianist Enrique Prado; tenor Pablo Buniak with pianist Alberto Macedo; and many others.
The Steinway Series was suspended when, due to policy changes, the Bellas Artes ceased to be a public theater. The series will be reactivated at the new San Miguel Playhouse, in partnership with Libros para Todos.
Below are video samples from two Steinway Series concerts: “Jupiter,” from Gustav Holst’s The Planets, arranged by Jun Nagao for sax quartet and piano (Anacrusax with Edith Ruiz, December 13 and 14, 2017); and George Gershwin’s piano solo arrangement of “Swanee” (Mark Hartman, September 27, 2019).
Here is a montage of some of the posters and program covers from the six and a half years of the Steinway Series at Bellas Artes.
