Speech by Founder / CEO Soren Vincents Svendsen, Vienna, February 27 – 2026.

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends, dear Anastasia & Alexey:

In November 2024, I sent a message on Instagram to a company I had just

noticed: Via Piano & Arts Center.

At that point I didn’t know much or anything about this company. But I

immediately liked the combination in the name: piano and art. And I

wrote: “You have a very interesting business concept - maybe we should

discuss a collaboration. Best regards…”

Thankfully, that invitation was received in the spirit it was meant. Since

then, we have been talking, discussing, laughing, being very serious,

developing ideas and concepts together - and yes, we have been eating

Wiener Schnitzel.

And today, we celebrate our business collaboration officially – and we

mark the launch of the full collection of PH Pianos in Vienna and the

NEW BLACK in the City of Music - here at Via Piano & Arts Center.

We are bringing unique and authentic Danish artworks into the mecca of

traditional culture and music - Danish provocative artworks are coming

into the City of Music.

At first glance it could be quite a clash but there is also so much potential

for those who understand how to combine history, culture, music and

traditional values with new ways of understanding the piano as not just

another “black box” but as an artwork providing more sensory experiences

and playing on all senses in life.

And, therefore, please let me start by expressing my sincere gratitude to

you, Anastasia and Alexey.You truly have what it takes – you understand it! You are deeply

passionate and skilled, not only because you, Alexey, can make any piano

sing and sound like music from heaven… but because you know that a PH

Piano is more than just another piano… you know that we are working

with genuine artworks, developed and designed by a genuine Danish

designer, Poul Henningsen, who designed the collection of PH Pianos with

a true design philosophy.

And you are truly masters in building communities and making events –

creating joy & experiences around pianos, violins and musical instruments.

Please – before moving on to the real thing – the PH Pianos here at the

Center and in Vienna – let me put a few words on our Danish

company ToneArt.

In daily life we operate as PH Pianos and PH Furniture. We hold the

worldwide exclusive license for production of the full collection of pianos

and furniture pieces designed by Poul Henningsen, from 1919 and up

until the mid-1950s.

Poul Henningsen is, by far, renown and mainly known for his lighting

designs - the PH lamps distributed around the world by the Danish

lighting company Louis Poulsen.

However, Poul Henningsen also designed furniture - and he designed four

different pianos in the 1930s, including the PH Grand Piano and the PH

Upright Piano that we have here today at the center in Vienna – in addition

to the beautiful, small PH Pianette and the PH Bow Grand from 1937 that

resembles the Opera House in Sydney.

But unlike the lighting, the pianos and furniture pieces were never truly

put into serial production - apart from some few prototypes of the

furniture pieces and some PH Pianos made by a Danish piano company in

the 1930’s.We took over the licenses some years back, and today we can clearly say

that we craft PH Pianos and a full collection of PH furniture pieces

according to the original design & craftsmanship principles, and with

configurations approved by the PH family.

We are bringing the Danish cultural heritage pieces to life – in different

settings, cities and countries: today in Vienna and next Wednesday we will

launch the full collection in Tokyo Japan.

And talking about PH Pianos – they are designed by a real designer, with a

real design philosophy, and every PH Piano comes with storytelling and

we are the only guarantee of providing authentic PH Pianos and each new

PH Piano comes with authenticity documents that make it a real longterm

investment, still yielding daily joy and experiences also for the next

generations of the family.

Regarding the glass-lid or the PH Grand Piano, which is probably the most

iconic model of the PH piano designs, Poul Henningsen wanted to peel

away what he saw as unnecessary carpentry work of the traditional black-

box instrument. He wanted to bring forward the beauty of the instrument

itself, its musical qualities and make it transparent.

As Poul Henningsen said, you take the violin out of its box before you

start to play. And he wanted, in a way, to take the piano out of its “box”—

to reveal it.

Today, we have already listened to beautiful playing on this PH Grand

Piano, and we know it can perform. I will not start a debate about whether

it plays better or worse than a traditional black box.

But we could raise the question that Poul Henningsen invites us to ask:

Why should the sound - and the instrument - be contained inside a box, if

the box is not necessary? Some questions are provocative. And sometimes the answers are

complicated. So today, let us not go too far down that road – but trust me,

we remember that question and we are working on the answers…

What truly defines and makes a PH Piano is always the design and the

casing. That is the essence of any PH Piano. An authentic PH Piano is not

defined by the inside, but it can be equally important for the value and the

daily joy of it as an instrument. The point is that PH Pianos are not

constrained or limited to one specific piano brand - that would be a

complete misunderstanding of the PH design philosophy.

Instead, we remain open and inclusive, also to customer preferences, while

staying true to the original PH design and the true craftsmanship principles

and configuration of materials.

A PH Piano – no matter what model – is always an eye-catcher and people

often react by saying: “Oh, it is so beautiful.” And yes, the PH Piano is

beautiful – I believe.

But you can love it or hate it – like with any genuine artwork. As Poul

Henningsen said: “There is no such thing as bad taste. There is good taste

and that is bad…”.

Poul Henningsen went against mainstream. He wanted to provoke. He

wanted to challenge conventions – the conservative, traditional thinking.

And the PH Pianos are, in that sense, functional artworks, that provoke,

inspire and talk to you – like any artworks. It is liberated designs.

Like with any genuine artwork, it is more than a question of beauty. It is

more than visual expression. It becomes a subject of conversation: a

symbol and a statement, a sculptural object in a room.

It is about timeless design and innovation, seeing things in a different light

and about acceptance of diversity, and it is about the desire for new ideas

that bring us forward.It is about the courage to challenge and go up against the norms and

establishment and the conservative, traditional thinking – think about it:

the futuristic PH Grand Piano is designed in 1930, almost 100 years ago! It

is about a timeless, unique sculpture.

It is about architecture in rhythms, forms, and proportions, creating

harmony the way that great architecture does – playing with the forms,

materials, colors and playful combinations.

Therefore, PH Pianos create a presence in a room and an experience

around music that is different from what a traditional piano – a black box –

can do.

PH Pianos are about lasting beauty and values, daily joy and experiences.

As you can hear, I could talk for much longer about PH Pianos. But today

is about more than the PH Piano as we normally talk about it.

Today, we also officially launch our concept of Upcycling or upgrading.

Upcycling taps directly into the discussion about renewable resources and

sustainable production and is a step further than just restoration, which is a

very well-known concept in the piano business.

Because, you know, we have a serious challenge in the piano business: old

pianos are of such high quality and can last for decades and longer than a

century.

Therefore, many old, traditional “black boxes” are being restored and for

good reasons but also causing huge frustrations in the piano making

industry.

But why not turn it around, and turn the traditions, the sentimental values,

and the musical soul and qualities that never go out of fashion - into a

value for the future?It is not only about how to make another new piano. It is about how we

can preserve & treat what already exists with respect - and bring it

forward?

Upcycling goes a step further than just restoration. We preserve

instruments and crafts. We preserve musical life and the soul of an

instrument.

And we bring new life to an old “black box” by upcycling that “black box”

into a PH Piano; by adding the unique casing and design of a PH Piano.

I strongly believe that an upcycled PH Piano model of a black box is

becoming the new black – as a concept and a shift in the way we are

thinking about treating and talking negatively about old, traditional pianos.

Let us turn those true crafts into assets.

Therefore, as I said earlier – we are bringing life to Danish cultural

heritage pieces – but we also bring new life to the old black box. To put it

in a bit popular way: we are providing a new dressing for an old black box

- we combine all the best values of traditional instruments with the

genuine cabinet design, designed in the past but still belongingo to the

future. It is past, present and future.

There can be many reasons for doing it - not only because it aligns with

responsible and sustainable production, but also because older instruments

carry exceptional musical potential and deep sentimental family values.

In any case, older instruments carry something we should respect: history,

craft, and the accumulated life and soul of music. Just as much as we want

to challenge traditions, just as much do we want to preserve those values.

It is the NEW BLACK!

So, to conclude: today we are launching innovative, provocative Danish

artworks and design pianos – as new or upcycled authentic PH Pianos –

here in Vienna, in the wonderful and beautiful City of Music, full of

traditions and conservative values.I love the combination.

Besides, today is also the beginning of a collaboration and a future journey

together - between Via Piano & Arts Center and ToneArt in Copenhagen.

And we are going to do much more and we share big ambitions together –

and let it be a teaser for now. But what I can say is this: collaboration is

always about people.

And, therefore, please let me end where I started - by highlighting our

hosts today, Anastasia and Alexey: you have the skills, the energy, and

exactly the mindset it takes to bring forward the legacy of Poul

Henningsen - with knowledge, respect, and with courage.

Thank you so very much to you and thank you so very much to all of you

for being here today!