Das fröhliche alte österreichische Konzertklavier
To conclude our great year of 2025, I have finally finished my illustration of Widmung as a unique inanimate object.
My inspiration comes from listening to classical music on old formats such as mechanical reproducing player piano rolls (played by the composer) and Victrola 78 rpm records.
Another is by looking at the works of the American graphic design artist, Alex Steinweiss. He was known for inventing the album cover for Columbia Records in the 1940s.
The reason why Widmung wears his zombie pelt is because it states an expression of old age.
Inside of him is a piano harp, made in the late 19th century. Some strings are out of tune, yet it makes a hauntingly beautiful sound.
Here's the story:
Maestro Widmung was once a fine piano virtuoso of the Victorian Era. He enjoyed performing in numerous concerts and toured all over the Forests of Europe to play his song of dedication.
However, he was cursed into an Imperial Austrian grand piano made from Rosewood. His pure soul was permanently trapped inside the ornate instrument.
Many decades have passed and Widmung's piano sat like a time capsule in an empty music hall in Vienna. One day, a fine gentleman named Julius Oculus, bearing the player's name of Jeweleye, wanted the antique piano to become his grandchild.
Julius then took the Austrian grand piano with him and travelled to The Endless Forest. He freed the pure-hearted soul of Widmung and transformed him in becoming a devoted grandson.
Widmung was tasked to help new deer as a good deed, and therefore, he passed Jeweleye's legacy of finding new pictograms and befriending new players, out there in the Wilderness.
Yet, his piano form is inside within him, and his pure soul sings out a chord into a sonata or a symphony, calling others to a warm gathering of dedication and devotion.
I wish everyone a Happy New Year!!
Godspeed 2026!
)
