Have you seen the 50,000th Bösendorfer? Here it is pre-release.

[opengoldberg]

While Kimiko Ishizaka was at the Bösendorfer factory choosing the 280 for her upcoming Well-Tempered Clavier recording, the managing director of the company took her aside to show her the "Opus 50 000" - an instrument they've created to celebrate 185 years of operations. It's covered with gold and sculptures. Here's a short video that was made of the command performance that Kimiko gave, as well as a glimpse inside of the Bösendorfer factory.

Edit:

direct link since the embed code no longer works on this forum.

[opengoldberg]

PS excuse the intonation; it hadn't been tuned or voiced for performance. Notice the legs still aren't on it yet.

[ranniks]

I'm not hearing any 'soul' in her playing the Bach piece. Maybe it's the piece itself.

[opengoldberg]

I'm not sure if "soulful" is the exact ideal adjective for that particular piece. There's a more yearning and lyrical example, also from the WTC, in this post here if you want a second taste. While I'm not objective because I'm married to her, what I like about her interpretation of the C minor prelude is the variety of articulations and voicings in the mechanical section.

[pogmoger]

While I'm not objective because I'm married to her, what I like about her interpretation of the C minor prelude is the variety of articulations and voicings in the mechanical section.

Well, I'm not married to her, so I'm a bit more objective and I would agree with you here 

Thanks for posting! It's particularly interesting for me to watch, as I have been playing this prelude on a lot of pianos recently (including many Bösendorfers) in my search for a new grand. What I love about playing a piece like this on a top quality piano is the opportunity to really examine how the piano does or doesn't allow me to subtly vary articulation of each individual note. In other words, does the piano help me or hinder me when trying to make this very repetitive, almost monotonous piece come alive? (Not that my playing is anywhere near as subtle and detailed as this performance.) A Bösendorfer is a pleasure to play on every time.

[opengoldberg]

Sometime along the way, the syntax for YouTube videos must have changed. I wonder how it's done now? This is the direct link to the video: