ABOUT THE SALON

The Chapel Hill Piano Salon – presented by Ken Gorfkle, is a home concert series held in a spacious and elegant contemporary home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The piano is the Bosendorfer 280 Vienna Concert Series, the latest and greatest of the Bosendorfer concert grand pianos.  This is an indescribable Viennese handcrafted instrument.  In the four years that it has been in production, fewer than 100 have been made.  The piano has been acclaimed by performers such as Andras Schiff as the best piano in the world.

UPCOMING EVENTS

25 May 2024

George Li

PROGRAM   J.S. Bach French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817 R. Schumann Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 Intermission L.…

$85
Find out more
26 May 2024

George Li

PROGRAM   J.S. Bach French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817 R. Schumann Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 Intermission L.…

$85
Find out more

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

George Li plays Rachmaninoff Étude tableaux in E-flat minor, Op. 33 No. 6

George Li plays Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Andantino semplice, with the Mariinsky Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"The elephant in the room: a stunning nine-foot Bösendorfer Concert Grand piano. Nearby, world-renowned classical virtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin prepares to give a recital of the very same program of Scriabin, Prokofiev, Feinberg, and Schubert that he will perform later in the month at Carnegie Hall in New York City. ...Tonight, Marc-André gives an extraordinary performance, his fingers gliding over the keys like feathers lighting upon leaves of grass. Every move — his arms, his shoulders — is as graceful as a ballet dancer’s. And the emotion on the faces of the people gathered around the piano is palpable. ... At a typical music hall, the first row is several feet from the stage; in Ken’s living room, the back row is a mere 17 feet away from the piano."

- Our State, Mark K.

Chapel Hill Piano Salon
2020-04-01T17:33:03-04:00

- Our State, Mark K.

A line of well-dressed music lovers snakes down the driveway of Ken Gorfkle’s home in a wooded Chapel Hill neighborhood. In the foyer, guests remove their shoes before entering a living room with high, sloped ceilings and shelves filled with books on art, philosophy, and literature. The elephant in the room: a stunning nine-foot Bösendorfer Concert Grand piano. Nearby, world-renowned classical virtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin prepares to give a recital of the very same program of Scriabin, Prokofiev, Feinberg, and Schubert that he will perform later in the month at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
"Here we are in this beautiful home in Chapel Hill, yet it’s an international stage with international talent.  It’s just so incredibly special."

- Chapel Hill Magazine, Terry M.

 

Chapel Hill Piano Salon
2019-07-24T17:55:02-04:00

- Chapel Hill Magazine, Terry M.

 

"Here we are in this beautiful home in Chapel Hill, yet it’s an international stage with international talent.  It’s just so incredibly special."
"I cannot thank you enough for affording me the opportunity to be in the presence of this extraordinary young man. I don’t mean just to hear him; I was seated very close by, with a full view of the keyboard, his hands, and most of his body. I cannot imagine that I will ever again (unless he returns to us) experience the range of color, emotion, power, and beauty that he drew from that instrument. I’m trying to describe in words something for which I have no words. It didn’t feel like a performance, where the pianist is on the stage and we are out in the audience. It felt like we were inside the music, and it was inside us. And he WAS the music. It was stunning."

- Connie M.

Chapel Hill Piano Salon
2019-07-24T18:42:19-04:00

- Connie M.

"I cannot thank you enough for affording me the opportunity to be in the presence of this extraordinary young man. I don’t mean just to hear him; I was seated very close by, with a full view of the keyboard, his hands, and most of his body. I cannot imagine that I will ever again (unless he returns to us) experience the range of color, emotion, power, and beauty that he drew from that instrument. I’m trying to describe in words something for which I have no words. It didn’t feel like a performance, where the pianist is on the stage and we are out in the audience. It felt like we were inside the music, and it was inside us. And he WAS the music. It was stunning."
"An intimately beautiful experience I’ve not found in any other musical setting.  Wonderful!"

- Lily S.

Chapel Hill Piano Salon
2019-09-04T19:19:25-04:00

- Lily S.

"An intimately beautiful experience I’ve not found in any other musical setting.  Wonderful!"
"I can't thank you enough for the invitation to such a magnificent concert at your wonderful home. The artists were superb and your piano a work of art."

- Maggie​ G.

Chapel Hill Piano Salon
2019-07-24T18:39:51-04:00

- Maggie​ G.

"I can't thank you enough for the invitation to such a magnificent concert at your wonderful home. The artists were superb and your piano a work of art."
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Chapel Hill Piano Salon