Draft:World Pianist Day

World Pianist Day is a special holiday for both seasoned and amateur piano and keyboard instruments players of all ages and nations. It’s celebrated annually on November 8th.

Description

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On this day concerts and meetings with musicians are held all over the world. Pianists congratulate their mentors (and vice versa), friends and relatives of musicians send their congratulations too. “Free piano” events are organized in public places. Numerous music stores offer discounts on their goods.

History

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In 2024 there will be the 10th anniversary of the holiday. World Pianist Day is already celebrated throughout the world: in Latvia, Ukraine, Austria, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Japan, South Korea, Canada, France, Taiwan, the Philippines, Israel, etc. London and Boston Philharmonics dedicated special performances to the holiday. In the U.S. the famou

World Pianist Day
Observed byworldwide
TypeCultural. professional. informal, international
DateNovember 8
Frequencyannual
First time2014
Started byIvan Manko-Vertogradoff

s TV presenter Ellen DeGeneres and the legendary “Piano Man” himself — Billy Joel — joined the festivities. Both the number and the geography of events keep expanding, as World Pianist Day becomes truly the global holiday.

The tradition to celebrate November 8th as the special day for piano and keyboard players was founded in 2014 by Ivan Manko-Vertogradoff — cultural activist, piano aficionado and the owner of a music store chain. “I was always dreaming of my friends and clients having their own holiday — simply because they’re worth it”, commented the founder.

Started as just the discretional activity, in merely a year World Pianist Day was recognized as a dedicated holiday. In 2015 pianists Alexander Polyakov, Yulia Arkhangelskaya and Mikhail Orgish took the stage of Minsk State Philharmonics, as did Irina and Elizaveta Morozovs’ duo on piano/cymbalo. Tickets to the event were sold out in six days.

From 2016 World Pianist Day is celebrated internationally. Nanchang Hangkong University in China, where Mr. Polyakov was teaching at the time, was holding the festivities. On Nov. 8, 2016 Nikolai Panok, the Minsk pianist and composer, set the national record for playing the piano for 5 hours continuously. The next year the same performer beat his own record, adding one more hour of continuous playing.

On November 8th, 2018, marking yet another anniversary of World Pianist Day, piano was played at one of the most exotic and hard-to-reach places: the “Apothecary garden”, the subtropical part of the Moscow State University Botanical garden — which was at that time closed to the general public for more than 15 years. The young and talented Ilya Polyakov (not related to the mentioned Alexander Polyakov) played his own pieces named “Colors”.

The question “Why namely November 8th?” Ivan Manko-Vertogradoff replies: “First of all, on this day Alexander Scriabin, one of my most favorite composers and performers, was born. Then, it's a deep and cold autumn time, when people do need comfort and warmth the most — and piano music is able to provide these warm feelings. Last but not least: already after the holiday date was established, we’ve found, with a nice bit of astonishment, that Nov. 8th, or 8 x 11 (or vice versa) is exactly the number of grand piano keys! It is 88 keys to a pianist's soul", concludes Ivan Manko-Vertogradoff.

References

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1.      ↑ Євген Клосовський, Борис Тарахтій (2018-11-15). "День піаніста". ТРК Рудана (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-12-27.

2.     ↑ "Trio "Fuoco" celebrates World Pianist Day in Vienna. Austria". www.pianistday.com. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2024-03-09.

3.      ↑ Cho, Grace (2023-11-09). "Playing Scriabin at the British Ambassador's residence, Seoul, South Korea". Facebook. Retrieved 2024-02-22.

4.      ↑ "Oscar Peterson honoured with Heritage Minute on World Pianist Day, Missisauga, ON, Canada". Twitter. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2024-03-09.

5.      ↑ "Manila Bulletin marks World Pianist Day". Facebook. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2024-02-22.

6.      ↑ "London Symphony Orchestra celebrates World Pianist Day by playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No 22". Twitter (X). 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2024-02-22.

7.      ↑ "Boston Philharmonic honors World Pianist Day". Twitter (X). 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2024-02-22.

8.      ↑ "Debussy's "Clair de lune" played at Lincoln Center, New York, USA". Facebook. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2024-03-09.

9.      ↑ DeGeneres, Ellen (2021-11-09). "Happy World Pianist Day". Twitter. Retrieved 2024-03-09.

10.    ↑ "День Пианиста в БГФ". Белорусская государственная филармония (in Russian). 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2024-02-22.

11.    ↑ "День пианиста в "Аптекарском огороде"". weekendo.ru (in Russian). 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2024-02-22.

Other websites

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·        "World Pianist Day". 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2024-03-09.

·        "World Pianist Day". Retrieved 2024-03-09.

·        "Pianist Day". Retrieved 2024-03-09.

·        "World Pianist Day". Romeo Music. 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2024-03-09.

·        “World Pianist Day: Celebrating 10 years…”. Pianist Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-10.