SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Botanical Garden is hosting a total of 12 recovered pianos through July 20, in an event called Flower Piano.
The event is part of the Sunset Piano Project, a community supported venture led by musician Mauro Ffortisimo and filmmaker Dean Mermell.
Each piano is placed in a different location of the garden. The public is welcome to play any of the pianos when there are no performances taking place.
Professional pianists were playing each of the 12 pianos from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. for Saturday’s performance. The same will happen on July 18, following a performance at 11 a.m. by Lara Downes, a Steinway pianist.
Mauro Ffortisimo inadvertently started this project when he moved his piano outside to play during the sunset in the coastal city of Half Moon Bay. Locals began gathering for his nightly performances, and soon the media caught drift of his routine.
When Ffortisimo decided to make his performances into a longstanding project, he collaborated with filmmaker Dean Mermell. Mermell has also made a documentary, “Twelve Pianos,” to highlight their adventures. The movie is now in postproduction.
In 2013, Mermell and Ffortisimo placed 12 pianos along the San Mateo coastline, enjoyed by hikers and beach-goers alike.
In 2014, the Sunset Piano Project received a grant from the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development. With this aid, the project continued, this time with 12 pianos in San Francisco from May 15 to September 15, 2014. The pianos could be seen in the UN plaza and on Market Street.
This year, Flower Piano is supported by the SF Botanical Society and the Department of Parks and Recreation.
The San Francisco Botanical Gardens are open year round for visitors and offer flora and fauna from Mediterranean to mild temperature climates. Currently their Southeast Asian and Andean cloud forests are in development.
For more information regarding hours, location, and admission fees, visit: www.sfbotanicalgarden.org
