Sebastian and Pierre Erard were Parisian piano builders par excellence, and their names have become synonymous with French piano manufacture. Erard pianos were also used widely across the continent, including in German-speaking lands. This 45-minute program will explore how the Erard grand piano brings insight into Brahms’s piano textures. It will offer opportunities for students and for pianists and piano teachers from the community to try out their Brahms on the Erard.

On three successive evenings from March 18-20, the Stearns Collection will feature its original 1866 Erard piano, recently donated by Dr. Charles Metz. The first performance will honor the centennial of Gabriel Fauré’s death in 1924 and feature four SMTD faculty: Matthew Bengtson and John Ellis, piano; Fabiola Kim, violin; and Stanford Olsen, tenor. The second performance will feature Master’s pianist Yumiao Mai on the Erard piano as well as a replica of a late 18th century Viennese piano. The final event will feature a lecture on Johannes Brahms and his love of the Erard piano, and will also allow supervised time for pianists of all ages and abilities to play excerpts of Brahms or other mid-19th century composers on the Erard.