Where did great pianists meet the world's finest pianos

In the midtown Manhattan just a few just a few yards from Carnegie Hall is a basement where the world's finest pianos , those created by the house of Steinway & Sons  , wait for the world's finest pianists to choose from among them for their concerts and personal collections.Downstairs from the lust baroque of Steinway hall is a space , almost a bunker ,where 20 pianos awaits visits from the Likes of Lang Lang, Diana Krall and "piano man" Billy Joel,who need them for their concerts at Madison Square Garden .

     Only these recognised "Steinway artists " have access to the place , where they can practice with the acoustics and without bothering the neighbours .

     "Since 1925 this has been the place , where all of the world's pianists have chosen the instruments for their performances, recordings and personal  use," Ron Losby, president of  Steinway & Sons -Americas,told Efe news agency. The company which in the fall of 2015 will move to what is currently the International Center for Photography in New York City near Bryant park, has been for the last 90 years the place where virtuosos have tried out these keyboards of ivory and ebony until they find the one they recognise as their soulmate.

       "Each one is unique and handmade. Some are very talkative , very sociable, very loud and extroverted ..while others are more intimate, almost whispering their sounds, " Steinway's top executive in the Americas said.
      Also to be seen in the basement are photos of customers over the years, from Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Venezuela's Teresa Carreno to more recent artists like country music star Harrry Connick Jr., Japan's Mitsuko Uchida and Rosa Antonelli of Argentina.