This March 28th is International Piano Day, but contrary to what happens with most dates marked on the calendar, this day does not always fall on the same number. In 2023, for example, we had it one day later, on March 29. The reason this happens is as curious as it is ingenious: Piano Day takes place on the 88th day of each year.
88 is a beautiful number. It is capicuous, it rhymes easily, and aesthetically it is quite harmonious. However, none of these reasons is the reason that this day falls on such a date. The cause makes much more sense than all this and was the brainchild of German pianist Nils Frahm; who in 2015 took the initiative to annually mark the 88th day in our diaries to commemorate that the piano, as we know it today, has no more and no less than 88 keys. One key a day until reaching the most important date for lovers of this instrument.
The 88-key piano is an evolution of the original, the so-called harpsichord col piano e forte, which was created by the Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori in the 18th century. The one we see today in concerts and recitals dates from the late 19th century and has remained virtually intact to the present day. And that is the one played with great mastery by Esther Toledano, the protagonist of Madrid Secreto today. She is, as it could not be otherwise in our environment and in a day like this, Madrid and pianist. Or pianist and Madrileña, depending on how you look at it. And since she was very young she has lived with her fingers rooted in this instrument.
Esther Toledano, the Madrilenian who was born to play the piano.
As a child she lived in front of Parque del Oeste and now her neighborhood is Chueca. Esther Toledano, despite her surname, was born in Madrid and has practically spent her whole life in its streets. She is one of those Madrileñas who, without fear of knowing the world, enjoy the capital like no one else and cannot imagine a life far from it. Something that also happens to her with the piano. Her relationship with the city is similar to the one she has with the 88-key instrument: they have become inseparable.Every day I thank the piano very much for its existence in my life,” he admits. And it is clear that it is true, just talk about Madrid or the piano and a huge smile fills his face.
Music has been in Esther Toledano’s life as much as she has been in the city of Madrid: from the very beginning. In the cradle, her lullabies were none other than Beethoven’s Moonlight sonatas and the Appassionata and, while she was a boarder at a religious school, she took refuge in her notes to be able to disconnect. “I had a lot of loneliness in my childhood. I was a very imaginative and restless child and the nuns didn’t like that very much, so my stay there was not the most pleasant. I discovered that music was a magical and unique way to escape from reality“.
At the age of 7, he already knew how to play his first chords on the piano. It was her mother, also a pianist, who introduced her to this world. “The first song she taught me was Melody, the first piece from R. Schumann’s Album for Youth.” And, since then, her passion for this instrument has not stopped growing. “A piano is a whole orchestra in one instrument. You can play as a soloist pieces from minimal registers to registers of many different colors and tessituras. You can accompany instruments, singers, choirs, orchestras? It’s an enormous amount of possibilities that the piano has. And that’s powerful.
From his living room to the Candlelight concerts in Madrid.
You can tell, when she speaks and describes her profession, that Esther is in love with her work. She feels fortunate to be able to dedicate herself to something she is so passionate about and to be able to give the world a few minutes of her undisputed talent at each concert. “It is in those moments when I feel most alive. What I like most about my profession is that it gives meaning to my existence”. A unique sensation that she never tires of experiencing. “Working giving concerts never becomes routine. It’s exciting. It’s always different.
Some of the concerts in which we have been able to enjoy Esther Toledano (and we can continue to do so) are the Candlelight tributes to different artists and musical works. She has participated in Candlelight evenings honoring the best musicals orHollywood classics, but also in tributes such as those dedicated to Queen, Ludovico Einaudi or Coldplay.
“It is an honor to be a musical ambassador for such unique and magical experiences as Candlelight concerts,” she says. She describes these concerts as “the star fashion event of the third decade of the 21st century” and is clear that “Candlelight contains all the perfect ingredients for the resulting formula to be not only special and unique, but magical. And to be able to create magic in the times we live in has a lot of merit! Human beings need a little bit of that: magic and emotion”.
Madrid through music
In the Candlelight tributes, Esther Toledano has had the opportunity to set foot in such impressive spaces as the Círculo de Bellas Artes, the Palace Hotel or the Fernán Núñez Palace. However, when asked about her native Madrid, she prefers the simplicity of everyday life. “I am inspired by many of its corners. The Parque del Oeste brings back beautiful memories. I am also inspired by the Temple of Debod for its peace and history. And, of course, I love walking along the Gran Vía, passing hundreds of people on their way to hundreds of destinations,” he explains.
To enjoy music, besides spending hours glued to her inseparable piano, Toledano also has her favorite places in the capital.“As I like to fuse dinner with drinks and music I recently liked the Amazónico Restaurant on Jorge Juan Street. There is also another place that excited me not long ago. It’s called Héroe Café Espectáculo. It’s very cool because they project on a screen the video clips of the music they play and it’s great fun to watch them while you sing and dance”. Undoubtedly, two ideal places to celebrate International Piano Day and, why not, cross paths and have a few dances with one of the most talented pianists in Madrid at the moment.
For those who prefer quieter plans, but also enjoy live music, in Madrid there are many Candlelight concerts scheduled for the coming weeks. And many of them will feature Esther Toledano performing some of the most important works in the history of classical and contemporary music. A golden opportunity to celebrate the 88th key of the calendar and to enjoy a unique musical experience by candlelight.