Around the Music Festival

Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev’s concert grand piano “SK-EX Shigeru Kawai” was stolen from a truck in Palermo, Italy. The piano was being transported to Palermo for a concert to be held in the city on March 15 and 16.

The stolen model was based on the top-of-the-line Shigeru Kawai series of grand pianos manufactured by Kawai and further tuned for Pletnyov. According to local reports, a police investigation first led to the discovery of a truck carrying the piano 1.5 kilometers from the venue, followed by the discovery of a piano hidden in a warehouse in the city.

The officials were disappointed when the police informed them of its poor condition upon discovery, but the tuner Arimune Yamamoto, who is in charge of the Pletnyov at Kawai, and others worked all night to make the adjustments without incident. The concert with the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra （performing Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No.3） went on as planned.

Photo：Shigeru Kawai Europa