Christopher Taylor came to the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater on
Wednesday and gave a performance of the Goldbergs that was anything
but orthodox, and anything but reverent. It also focused strongly on
his instrument, a Steinway piano. Taylor's particular take on the
Goldbergs involves this particular piano, which is the only two-manual
instrument -- that is, a piano with two separate keyboards, one above
the other -- Steinway ever built. (Built in 1929, it's owned by the
University of Wisconsin, where it had been sitting forgotten until
Taylor, who is on the faculty there, helped rescue it.) The Goldbergs
were written for a two-manual harpsichord, but a two-manual piano is a
different animal, truly symphonic in its abilities, allowing a soloist
to reach two octaves and more with a single hand and, by coupling the
two keyboards, power out dense chords that shake the auditorium.

Is there a recording of this performance available anywhere?  I'm
particularly interested to hear what a two-manual piano sounds like.