By Peter Feher | ClevelandClassical
This article was originally published in Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Rock stars are known to make certain demands on tour, stipulating everything they expect to find in their dressing rooms and onstage.
Pianists Yuja Wang and Víkingur Ólafsson — two of the biggest names in classical music today — have one request that’s absolutely essential. In order to team up in recital and tackle the virtuosic repertoire they want to play together, Wang and Ólafsson each need a separate piano.
And so a pair of Steinways sat carefully arranged in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 23. Both instruments had their lids off, and their keyboards were lined up center stage, the players side by side but facing in opposite directions.