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Pianos per a tothom, a social project of the Museu de la Música de Barcelona
In the last few years, the Music Museum of Barcelona has regularly received piano donation offers from individuals or institutions that want to part with it. Most are upright pianos that occupy an increasingly scarce space in homes, or that are found in flats to be emptied. Many of these pianos are of no heritage interest to the Museum's collections, and their market value is very low. On the other hand, social, cultural and educational entities (youth centers, civic centers, nursing homes, schools, etc.) have musical projects with their users, but they are very limited due to the lack of budget to purchase instruments.
Before t this reality, in 2019 the Music Museum of Barcelona launched the Pianos per a tothom (Pianos for everyone) project. It is based on donations of pianos to social, cultural and educational facilities, with the aim that these instruments can continue to provide a service to citizens through music. The Museum evaluates the offers and requests, assigns the pianos and assumes the expense of the entire process: technical visit and report, transport and tuning. All this is possible thanks to the financial support of the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona, which from the beginning supported the project and provided the necessary resources to carry it out.
The chain begins with the person who offers the piano as a donation. The second step is the expert visit, which the Museum entrusts to one of the tuning technicians it has in its portfolio. On the basis of the technician's report, if the piano is accepted, a suitable destination is sought, depending on the characteristics of the piano and the needs of the organisation: a school is not the same as a theatre or a nursing home. Once the destination has been agreed, transport is arranged and the piano is tuned once it has been installed. From this moment on, the piano becomes the property of the organisation and is one more element of its activity.
The project has made it possible for 58 organisations in Barcelona and the surrounding area to have a piano to develop musical activities with their users, which they would not have access to without this project. From the residents of a childcare home, who can play it every day, to members of the neighborhood association or pupils from a primary school, all of them will be able to enjoy music directly thanks to the second life of this piano.