„My favorite brand is unquestionably Bechstein, both upright pianos and grand pianos. “
Chilly Gonzales
Chilly Gonzales studied jazz piano in Montreal. He got involved in pop music and attained some prominence with "The Worst MC", a satirical rap song that was enthusiastically received across a broad spectrum of listeners. In 2004, he recorded "Solo Piano", an album midway between jazz and classical music whose songs he also played in Berlin during the 2007 Glenn Gould Festival.
In 2010, he composed the soundtrack of the iPad commercial, a work with only three notes (F sharp, A and B) that made him famous. Still the same year, he performed on stage repeatedly with the actor and jazzman Helge Schneider. In 2009, Chilly Gonzales broke a world record when he gave a concert that lasted twenty-seven hours without a break. And in 2014, he performed on stage "The Shadow", a musical adaptation of a tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Together with Jarvis Cocker, he developed Room 29, a show that combines music, dance and photographs taken by Coker to render the atmosphere of a room in a famous hotel on Sunset Boulevard that has accommodated a series of cinema and pop stars.
At home Chilly Gonzales plays a Bechstein upright. For concerts, such as that given at Gewandhaus Leipzig, he favors C. Bechstein grands.
Photo: © Alexandre Isard, DuMont Festakt 401
