I’d say it’s a cinch that in next year’s State of the University Address, Chancellor Moeser will mention the pricey piano and somehow link its acquisition with progress toward becoming “the leading public university in the US.”

I wonder how many pianists who would otherwise have been willing to perform in Chapel Hill have said “no” just because of the absence of a Hamburg Steinway.

This is quite similar to the cry we hear almost constantly from UNC that it needs more money to be able to attract and keep “the best professors.” In this case, it is “the best pianists.” But even if some professor turns down an offer from UNC because Yale is offering more money, UNC is still able to hire someone else who is perfectly qualified. From the standpoint of the students, it scarcely matters at all which prof is on the UNC faculty. Same with the supposedly fussy keyboard virtuosos. If some performer turns down UNC because they don’t have the right Steinway flavor, that doesn’t mean no concert. It means that a less fussy pianist is engaged. Are the listeners any worse off? No.