What is the piano piece that makes your fingers bleed?

The Piano Sonata BB 88 Competitor Rui Urayama's fingers bled during an intense performance of "The Piano Sonata BB 88" by composer Béla Bartók. It's a gruesome image, but Urayama not only appeared to be fine -- she advanced to the next round -- she played well the next day in the semifinals, said judge Frank Weinstock.

cincinnati.com - She played till her fingers bled - Cincinnati Enquirer

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Playing till your fingers bleed isn't just an expression.

Ask the participants of the Cincinnati World Piano Competition. Or visit Reddit or Facebook. An image of blood-covered piano keys from the quarter finals of the competition is making major rounds on social media Friday. Competitor Rui Urayama's fingers bled during an intense performance of "The Piano Sonata BB 88" by composer Béla Bartók. It's a gruesome image, but Urayama not only appeared to be fine -- she advanced to the next round -- she played well the next day in the semifinals, said judge Frank Weinstock. But Friday afternoon, it had been shared almost 2,000 times. And later made its way to Reddit, where the shocking shot has been viewed almost 1 million times. Bleeding on the keyboard, however, is not "amazingly unusual," wrote Weinstock in a message, "but none of us have ever seen anything to this extent. "It is amazing that she was able to continue playing through what must have been pain, let alone on slippery keys, and did so in a way that nobody noticed!" According to Weinstock, the members of the jury were only aware of the issue when they saw a piano technician at the piano "in rubber gloves and cleaning everything with powerful disinfectants." Weinstock praised the playing and the extreme difficulty of the piece Urayama performed -- even if she had uninjured hands. "It is a wonderful piece, one of the masterpieces of the 20th century piano repertoire," he wrote. "The first and third movements (surely her finger let loose in one of those two) are dominated by very incisive and strong rhythms, and are also physically very difficult to play. It is not every pianist who can master this piece, that's for sure." Weinstock will judge the final round with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at 7 p.m. Saturday. The finals take place at Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village, on the campus of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

The finalists and repertoire for the Cincinnati World Piano Competition are:

Mei Rui (United States) – Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto

Artem Yasynskyy (Ukraine) – Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto

Nino Bakradze (Georgia) – Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto

Each of the three finalists will perform the full concerto with the CSO, according to a release from the symphony. At stake is $45,000 in prize money and a debut recital in New York City. The audience favorite voting is also available. Tickets for the finals are still available and start at $35 ($10 for students). Last year's finals sold out. Call the Box Office at 513-381-3300 or visit cincinnatiwpc.org.

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Are Steinway piano keys made of ivory?

Steinway of Steinway & Sons about piano keys no longer being made of ivory. Plastic coverings for keys are used now. Mr. Steinway, who is the 6th member of his family to head the firm since its founding in 1853, said ivory has always been a pain in the neck.

newyorker.com - Change of Keys | The New Yorker

The New Yorker, January 25, 1958 P. 25

Talk. Interview with Henry Z. Steinway of Steinway & Sons about piano keys no longer being made of ivory. Plastic coverings for keys are used now. Mr. Steinway, who is the 6th member of his family to head the firm since its founding in 1853, said ivory has always been a pain in the neck. They've been looking for a substitute since the 1930's. One trouble with ivory is its unpredictable behavior. It tends to split & is readily affected by heat, cold, dampness, dryness, exposure to light, and even by certain acids in perspiration. The Steinways' ivory came from Africa. 70% of the tusks were wasted in the course of cutting, and because ivory is naturally yellowish, the coverings had to be carefully bleached. No chemical could do the job, so they were put up on a factory roof to bleach in the sun for 6 months. The plastic key coverings now used are satisfactory, but they are experimenting with coverings of Plexiglas, Vinylite, and Implex.

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