Pianos need so little to endure for decades; a little playing time, periodic tuning, and a comfortable environment. We put our heart into our pianos when we sit and play them, when we remember the long hours of practice and the rewarding years of enjoyable music. Which is why this sad piano story affects us so deeply. Warning, the images you are about to see are disturbing to piano lovers. The names and serial numbers have been withheld to protect the innocent.
We were recently contacted about restoring a piano. The piano was a Steinway grand, already once rebuilt with care less than 20 years ago. Only a few years after so many parts were replaced, cabinet finished, and so on, the piano was moved to a country home where it was exposed to daily changes and seasonal extremes. In just over 10 years, the piano was left in ruins.
We were asked if there is any hope for this piano. The piano was donated to an institution of higher learning. Hmmm. Remarkably, it may be possible to save this piano at great expense. Given the price of a new Steinway, it may still be worth it. By way of our PianoWorks Restoration facility, we have saved pianos in similar condition including a Steinway concert grand that was found in a condemned building, sitting in rainwater from a collapsed roof. That piano became a primary performance instrument for Auburn University. We’ve salvaged a few from flood waters, fires and even a hurricane or two.
Please be kind to your piano. Give it love, tuning, regulation & voicing, and protect it from the elements.
Last Thursday, Don Bennett, RPT and President of PianoWorks made a follow-up service visit for the latest addition to Lee University’s stable of fine pianos. The piano, a 1930 Steinway model D concert grand, was delivered to Lee University August of this year in time for the Fall semester. The piano currently resides in Professor Ning An’s teaching studio while additional construction is completed.
PianoWorks acquired the piano from another college after seeing the potential that restoration could bring. The restoration took many months and required redesigning the keyframe to adhere to modern Steinway action specifications. The sound, however, is pure vintage Steinway, reminiscent of the great recordings from the Golden Era of pianists. Lee University agreed and below you can see Professor Ning An at the piano.
In response to changing conditions in the piano market, the organization BVK – Bundesverband Klavier e.V. has created certificate programs that authenticate brands as “Made In Germany” or “Made In Europe” for the benefit of confused customers. BVK membership includes piano makers and key parts suppliers located in Europe. Increasingly, brands founded in Germany and other parts of Europe have expanded their manufacturing to other factories around the globe. At the same time, new piano companies with little or no affiliation to these established brands seek to exploit weak international trademark infringement policies. BVK has established a center of information for consumers where brands that have met the strict criteria can be included for their transparency in manufacturing & brand information.
For BVK, the definition of “Made In Germany” and “Made In Europe” benefits from transparancy, noting that many key steps in the piano manufacturing process must take place in the home country so that public perception can be in line with reality. In other industries, similar organizations have formed when brand strategies have differed. In Switzerland, the watch industry now has a faction that wishes to raise the standard to 80% of parts & labor as the minimum for “Swiss Made” whereas the current standard is only 50% of manufacturing costs must be completed within the borders. Since German and other European piano brands often command top dollar for their instruments, BVK seeks to differentiate “certified” members from those who wield their brand differently.
Of greater concern to the members of BVK is to advocate in defense of their brands in emerging markets where trademark infringement is commonplace. Reports from Musical Instrument trade shows in China have included as many as four Chinese companies simultaneously using a single German trademark, all without affiliation and all in violation of international trademark laws. Imagine walking the halls and seeing a booth for Feurich Pianos…and then another…and then two more?!? These instruments are free from standards and then negatively affect the brand as consumers fall prey to this practice.
BVK does not represent the interests of every German or European brand. Some brands believe quality is derived from the “company of origin” rather than the “country of origin” and see expanding their brand as the future of their company. Other companies value their independence.
Several European brands have expanded their manufacturing to include tiered product levels that take advantage of global manufacturing. This practice is commonplace among mass-produced piano makers looking to control manufacturing costs, but has become a trend among some smaller traditional piano makers looking to expand their brand. For example, most average consumers associate Yamaha with “Made In Japan,” a phrase that evolved over decades from early, cheaply made goods to later mean precision manufacturing and often “state-of-the-art.” Those same average consumers are often blithely unaware that today, the majority of Yamaha’s pianos are made outside of Japan in either China or Indonesia. While not a mark on the company’s standards, the public consciousness has not caught up to reality, and some customers are shocked because they associate brand quality with country of origin.
For a small, traditional German brand like Seiler, their brand expansion meant taking some of their most popular designs to the larger plants of their parent company around the world. This allowed the brand to expand from a few hundred pianos built each year to a few thousand. While hardly mass produced like some brands that exceed 100,000 pianos each year, the goal is to allow more customers and more piano stores access these fine designs at an upper-middle price class. These instruments carry the Seiler name, Seiler design and many of the same components, but are separated by series names like ED and ES versus the SE that designates the models that are “Made In Germany” and carry the highest price. Because of this strategy, each instrument is strikingly similar, but consumers can opt to invest more for the subtle nuances that the higher priced instruments offer. Under BVK’s philosophy, these lines may not share the same brand name. Seiler is a BVK member but does not hold a certificate.
Now that this resource exists, we can annouce that one of our elite brands, Grotrian, has a BVK Certificate that they are “Made In Germany.” Grotrian is the North American brand for GROTRIAN-STEINWEG GmbH & Co. KG, a founding member of BVK, and consistently rated as a top 8 elite piano maker. Considering that the combined annual production of all top 8 makers represents less than 1% of new pianos produced and that there are over 100 brands today, that is a proud distinction. Certificate holders must repeat their review every two years to renew the certificate and keep their standing with BVK. We have a copy of the Grotrian BVK Certificate that you may review here in our showroom.
The newest Festival Bulletin from the National Federation of Music Clubs has arrived with a pleasant surprise. Selected as a new festival piece is “Sounds of Madrid” by our very own Derek Vann. Derek’s original composition was selected as the Lynn Freeman Olson Composition Award Winner in 2009. The winning composition was submitted to publishers where FJH Music Company picked it up for publication and distribution in 2010. Now part of the NFMC Bulletin 2014-2016, thousands of students around the country will prepare his piece for their Festival competition.
“Sounds of Madrid” is for level Elementary IV. Visit PianoWorks and request an autographed copy!
Piano shopping can be a real task or a truly wonderful experience. We work hard to make it both educational and fun. We are always delighted to get customer feedback on our business. Of course, it helps when you get to represent great piano makers like Estonia!
Thank you Linda for giving us the opportunity to earn your business.
-The PianoWorks Staff
Last Tuesday, June 4, Gabe Granitz taught a class on dampers to the Piano Technichians Guild – Atlanta Chapter. Gabe is one of our Registered Piano Technicians here at PianoWorks where he has steadily added many skills to his natural ability, making him one of the best young techs in our region. His recent talk was on damper adjustments in the field as well as more extensive repairs including replacing damper felts, installation and concert adjustments. Contact PianoWorks if you need his help or any of our extensive repair and restoration services.
Pianist & Bösendorfer Artist Valentina Lisitsa visited PianoWorks to promote the release of her Rachmaninov Project. The 2-CD set includes all 4 Rachmaninov Piano Concertos & Paganini Rhapsohy from Decca Classics. Her visit included quite a variety of performace from Rachmaninov Preludes, Hungarian Rhapsody, Schubert-Liszt transcriptions and a personal favorite, La Campanella.
We are so fortunate to be able to bring this elite artist to our community. See more photos in our Facebook Album.
Photo: BJTphotography.net
Dear Don and Sam,
I want to thank you for the excellent service I received at PianoWorks. I am thrilled with the Estonia Hidden Beauty I purchased in your shop. It is everything I could want in a piano. The tone is beautiful and captivating in all registers and the action is wonderfully responsive. The Estonia brand was not on my radar when I was considering trading in my Steinway M so I consider myself fortunate that you introduced me to this wonderful piano. It will enrich my days for the rest of my life.
Also, I was quite pleased with the way you handled the consignment of my Steinway M. I know that your first rate restoration was the reason that the Steinway sold quickly and at a good price.
We are very lucky to have a piano dealership and restoration facility such as yours right in our own back yard. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Richard R.
Using the same technology that made Google Maps “Street View” navigation possible, customers can now take a virtual tour of the main PianoWorks showroom. You will be greeted by a Bösendorfer Imperial when you enter with rows of new, pre-owned and restored pianos. We have many upright pianos centered in our showroom and to the right you can visit our digital piano department. Travel to the left and you can browse for piano sheet music or gifts and make your way into our recital hall. The full tour even visits one of our piano teaching studios.
On Easter Sunday, 2012, PianoWorks passed a small milestone. Recent efforts to create a helpful library of piano and digital piano demonstrations, samples and generally entertaining videos has lead to 250,000 video views and counting. With now well over 100 videos and new videos added most every week, subscribers to the PianoWorks YouTube channel are also benefitting from even better quality content. This year, we’ve invested in better cameras, better mics, better processing and most delightfully, new enthusiastic demonstrators.
While 250,000 views is hardly viral, we are pleased with how people are receiving these mostly straight-forward product videos. Below are some recently highlighted videos.
If you are not yet a subscriber, sign up today to see new and exciting products from PianoWorks…on YouTube!
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