The popularity of experiences as gifts has been growing over the last few years and together with increasing demand, the offer of these experiences has been extended. Most of them come from a human desire for adventure and aim for sensuality and emotions. So far, nobody has – purposely and for business – created the inner experiences, which could satisfy our mind or soul. The project “Life with the Art” by the pianist Michal Masek is supposed to bring you such experience.

Breakfast in ARIA hotel
We are meeting with the pianist and main organizer of the project “Life with the Art” Michal Masek at a typical place – musical Hotel ARIA in Lesser Town which is part of Prague. We are having breakfast and talking about initial ideas of the project and what Michal’s vision is for it. He explains that the project, thanks to authentic and unique experience, is supposed to show participants the connection between the world of art and the world of business. And that these two worlds can integrate and create a much greater value together.

“When I deal with bankers, managers and business people, they always ask about my life and about how everything goes on stage and backstage, because they have an opportunity to observe it only from auditorium. Their interest actually brought to mind the idea to create this project, which could satisfy the needs of these people to extend horizons of their knowledge of art,” Masek says.

I have some doubts about my own knowledge of classical music, but Petr Zemlicka, Masek’s partner in the project “Life with the Art”, calms me down: “People who participate in the project do not necessarily have to be art experts, but should be interested in getting to know and discovering it.” A client’s particular version of this experience always depends on his or her personality, Michal Masek can provide a unique program designed for each client, each realization of “Life with the Art” is in fact unique.

Car which can handle even a massage
We are getting in a hybrid limo Lexus LS 600h L and are driving toward town Hradec Kralove. I will definitely not be bored in this car. Michal presses a button and gives me a remote control to a screen, which drops from a ceiling. I can set up a sunshade, position and temperature of my seat and also select a type and intensity of shoulder and back massage. I am trying shiatsu. It is not bad, but eight air pockets can not totally match the lively hands of a masseur. I am also watching the TV program “Thirteenth Chamber” (Trinacta komnata), the document about Michal’s life. Miraculous child, fantastic talent. Then neural collapse caused by unremitting and excessive stress, depression, lost interest in not only piano, but in life in general. The end is optimistic indeed – after nine years, Michal returned to a piano and to concert stages and recording studios. It was in this time of recovery when Michal started thinking about the connection between art and business...

How pianos are built & a horror room
We are in Hradec Kralove, people from the Petrof piano factory are awaiting us. Our guides are the marketing director Jan Rysavy and head of Petrof’s R&D department Ivan Vaculik. Pianos have been built here for 146 years and Petrof is now the largest producer of pianos in Europe. “Even now after a big decrease in demand due to the recession, even so on average one grand piano leaves our factory every day. For the same reasons the numbers for upright pianos are much higher,” Rysavy says. Most of pianos find their customers outside the Czech Republic. “We export to Russia, the US, Germany and other European countries as well as to Asia,” Rysavy adds and explains that piano transport is hard and expensive matter not only due to dimensions and weight, but mainly due to necessity to maintain approximately the same climatic conditions throughout transport.

We are gradually walking through several floors of the factory and see grand and upright pianos in various phases of their pre musical instrument life. Series of black-and-white keyboards on stands, massive iron plates, piano frames, bunches of copper wires and “souls of pianos” – sound boards being prepared in climate chambers. From these and another 6996 parts, the whole instrument comes together step by step. Yes, one piano is built from around seven thousand parts and its production lasts approximately nine months, much like pregnancy.

Most of work is done by hand by Petrof’s skilled craftsmen, the craftsmen experience is handed down from generation to generation as we saw watching a young lady who skillfully wraps a bass string core wire with fine copper wire. Even after the piano is built, it is not 100% ready yet. Then it needs to be played… a lot!

As Masek explained me on the way here, it is the same with cars. A new piano does not mean the best piano. It takes some time before felt on hammer heads is ok. “Strings create grooves in felt, but these grooves must not be too deep. A grand piano is best after a year or so, then the quality is great and stable for several years, after that the level of a sound slightly decreases,” Masek adds. Then experienced technicians do the necessary adjustments to allow the instrument to continue its long life.

At the factory’s piano beating room we can see and hear the kind of “run-up” of a grand piano in the factory. From a small room, a frantic noise of unidentifiable origin resounds. When we open the door, we can see a playing machine. It is a machine, which according to a scheme presses keys regularly and round about one by one. It sounds horrible and this process takes around twenty minutes. This reminds me the movie “Clockwork Orange” and I am thinking if I would go mad in this room or not. We better shut the door and go to listen to a real music.

In the showroom, we are to meet with the president of the company Zuzana Ceralova Petrofova and Masek will be playing one of the Beethoven sonatas on a specially designed grand piano. We do not listen to live music only. Petrof cooperates with an audio legend Mark Levinson on building speakers for his new high-end audio system Daniel Hertz and the showroom is equipped by this system, so we can compare piano recordings with a live performance. We are being carried away by the music, but the time is running out as well and we have to go back to Prague. The Lexus LS 600h L is also equipped with a high quality audio system with 19 speakers, so we can keep enjoying music a little longer.

Secret life of Rudolfinum
The last stop on our music trip is the music hall Rudolfinum in Prague. It is Monday early evening, the gallery is closed, as is the café, the lights in the main vestibule are off. Musicians have a break before their evening concert. We are alone here and the place itself has a great atmosphere. Our guides are leading us to places, which can not be entered by common visitors. We stop in the silent hall of Mr. Suk and watch a conductor’s saloon. Masek can not resist again and tries a grand piano here. On the stage of the Dvorak hall, we are watching a piano technician tuning and preparing a piano for the evening concert.

We are walking down to an underground storage area, where master instruments are placed. Now there is only one grand piano, the other is upstairs on the stage with the technician. I am fascinated by a row of huge boxes from silver plate, which stands along cellar walls. It looks like a coffin for two, I think. Each box is covered by signs from world airports. “These boxes are for transportation of double-basses, when our philharmonic travels abroad,” our guide explains.

Then we have a coffee in a buffet for staff, which is almost empty now. “Musicians have rehearsals in the morning and now they are having rest before evening concert,” Masek says. I am interested in further details, but we have to hurry for the last meeting today. We will encounter the general manager of the Czech Philharmonic Vladimir Darjanin.

It is now evening, it is getting dark and we are saying goodbye. After today’s trip I know, how complicated building of pianos is, how backstage of a big concert house looks, and thanks to our guide I am aware of specifics of a musician’s life. I have just tasted „Life with the Art“ and will surely think about its flavor for a long time...