Rachmaninoff Piano Restored to Former Glory

By Payton Clark

For generations, the vision of being a well-rounded student who finds fulfillment in both extracurricular activities and coursework has attracted students from a variety of backgrounds to study at VP&S. Students with musical talents in particular have found the community of artists at VP&S to be a welcoming and creative environment where they can continue to refine their skills in the off time between classes and clinical rotations. For many, the allure of a legendary piano now residing in the Vagelos Education Center—the Rachmaninoff piano—was their first encounter with the artistic side of VP&S.

“Students and faculty use it with joy,” says Jean-Marie Alves-Bradford, MD, associate dean for student affairs, support, and services. “The reputation of the piano is a highlight and draw for students, and it holds tremendous meaning and pride for the school.”

Most people know the piano previously owned by Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff for its prominence in the “Musical Mondays” concert series held in VEC by the VP&S Musicians’ Guild. The series is just one of the events that welcome musicians and music enthusiasts, including students, faculty, alumni, and staff members.

Until recently, the piano fell silent due to age and disrepair. Thanks to an initiative by former Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs Lisa Mellman, MD, and the generosity of donors, including the family of the late Clyde Wu’56 and Helen Wu, the piano underwent refurbishment in the spring of 2023.

The latest refurbishment is one of many throughout the piano’s tenure at VP&S. During the latest refurbishment, multiple repairs over several months included replacing the cracked soundboard and the pin block responsible for keeping the piano in tune and installing an ambient temperature and humidity control system for the room that stores the piano to ensure no further damage occurs.

Following the extensive refurbishment, Dongwon Lee’24 and Luke Cai’28 performed at a recital where they played works by Chopin and Debussy, marking the first performance featuring the restored piano and providing a moment of appreciation to Dr. Mellman.

Mr. Cai, an MD/PhD candidate who is a pianist, was attracted to VP&S by the piano and the school’s tradition of combining medicine and the arts. As a member of the VP&S Musicians’ Guild leadership board, he worked with facilities and the student affairs office on the logistics of the refurbishment.

“The piano, much like how music itself can often be, is a unifying entity for the community. It welcomes those who play it to share a piece of themselves,” says Mr. Cai.

“For the students specifically, the Rachmaninoff piano serves not only as a preeminent avenue for self-expression, but also as an enduring, physical manifestation of the link between medicine, science, and the arts that VP&S encourages.”

The link between medicine and art has an impact not only on a student’s daily life while at VP&S, but also on the honing of skills necessary to be a well-rounded physician and musician, Mr. Cai says. Just as the nature of music is more than a combination of sounds, the “sounds” of medicine have more to offer when taken as a whole piece.

“This skill of listening closely, with the aim of conjuring a whole from the details, readily translates to science and medicine, be it the cognition required to perceive as music the sounds we sense or gathering and interpreting the story that a patient tells,” says Mr. Cai.

“Similarly, my experience in attempting to tame the sound of the Rachmaninoff piano has shown me that mere technical proficiency in any one discipline is insufficient. Instead, it is the integrative and interpretive aspects that characterize a skillful practitioner.”