Category: antique pianos

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The double standard as applied to used pianos and their sale

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I'm always surprised by the condition of many private party market used pianos, as if a double standard is operating when comparing a house sale to a piano sale. I will sometimes walk into a home that is on the market that is clean and sparkling while the offered musical instrument is dusty, out of… Continue reading The double standard as applied to used pianos and their sale

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Rekindling Marble Hill memories, and a remarkable twist of fate

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I was deeply moved to have discovered the Marble Hill Reunion site which inspired my own cherished memories of the projects in the Bronx where I romped during my childhood and early adolescence. My family moved from Featherbed Lane near Tremont Avenue to Marble Hill when I was about four. It was quite a notch… Continue reading Rekindling Marble Hill memories, and a remarkable twist of fate

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A Table Style Piano with Three Leaves–the whole story in lurid detail

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Two days following my encounter with the towering no name upright, I was drawn to a Fresno Bee Classified ad, that listed an antique ”Counsel piano” for sale at “$1500 or best offer.” (First thing that popped into my head was Indian pow-wow- tribal "council?") What on earth was a Counsel? I snatched up my… Continue reading A Table Style Piano with Three Leaves–the whole story in lurid detail

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Housing my Dream Pianos

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I grew up in the Marble Hill projects of the Bronx and lived on the ninth floor. The walls of our housing development were so paper thin that when I practiced on my Sohmer 1922 studio upright, my first dream piano, it would elicit nerve-racking thumps from the neighbor down below. To my embarrassment, I… Continue reading Housing my Dream Pianos

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Do’s and Don’ts for Piano Buyers and Sellers (Dream Piano’s last Chapter)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

DO’s for Buyers If possible take along a Registered Piano Technician and performing pianist with a good pair of ears to evaluate a used or new piano on the market. You can find a list of RPT members at your Piano Technicians’ Guild online site, or look in the business or Yellow Pages for the… Continue reading Do’s and Don’ts for Piano Buyers and Sellers (Dream Piano’s last Chapter)

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DREAM PIANO: Overview and Acknowledgments

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

My two-year long romp on the piano finding trail with York as my professional companion and consultant had been worth all the time spent in, around and under pianos. How else would I have acquired knowledge about the piano’s harp, or cast iron plate were it not for his having the bravado to dismantle it… Continue reading DREAM PIANO: Overview and Acknowledgments

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On the Meat Rack of used pianos: One that Never Left Its Home

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I received a phone call on a June morning from a man who inquired about my piano-finding services. He sounded like he might be from India, but I wasn’t sure. “Do you help with selling a piano?” he inquired. "On occasion, I do," I replied. "It depends on the quality of the instrument." I could… Continue reading On the Meat Rack of used pianos: One that Never Left Its Home

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Fujie Finds her Dream piano, but Buyer Beware!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Fujie's Suzuki Digital piano, purchased at Costco, predated her starting lessons with me. Prior to entering my sanctuary with its two Steinways and wall-to-wall, piano emblem nick knacks, she had been enrolled at Fresno State's Group classes. Seated at her electronic station with a full deck of 88s mounted on particle board platforms, among rows… Continue reading Fujie Finds her Dream piano, but Buyer Beware!

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Did the Ghost of Fritz ever sell?

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I couldn't resist foraging through my e-mail files for an update on the Ghost of Fritz, whether it sold, was put out to pasture, or dumped, dismembered and forgotten. To my surprise, I located this communication feeding my appetite for a few chuckles: From: pharmacutest To:  Shirley Kirsten Hi Shirley, "No, I haven't sold the… Continue reading Did the Ghost of Fritz ever sell?

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The Ghost of Fritz? Was I Dreaming?

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I had to pinch myself when I discovered a Craig’s List ad that featured “an antique baby grand piano selling for $1500.” Staring at me was a larger-than-life “Johann Fritz” that seemed to closely resemble the heart-breaker with the same surname formerly housed at a local American Cancer Society Discovery thrift store! It looked like… Continue reading The Ghost of Fritz? Was I Dreaming?