antique pianos, appraisal piano, blog, blogger, blogging, California, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Fresno California, humor, piano, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano maintenance, piano repair, private party marketplace of pianos, used piano, used pianos

The double standard as applied to used pianos and their sale

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

19th Century music, 20th Century music, Aeolian piano, Aeolian piano company, Aeolian spinet, American Cancer Society Discovery Shop, antique pianos, antiques, appraisal piano, arpeggios, Ashburnham, authorsden, Barbie doll collection, Barbie dolls, Betty Boop collection, Bluebook of pianos, bluebookofpianos.com, California, Chesterfields, Chickering piano, Classical era, classical music, Clinkscale's Makers of the Piano, Connell York, dream piano, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Facebook, Fig Garden Village, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, Fresno Historical Society, Fresno Piano Store, humor, J. Fritz piano, Knight piano, Mason and Hamlin piano, memoir, Mr. York, MTAC, music, music history, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, my space, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Old Fig Garden in Fresno, old upright, photos, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano pedagogy, piano restoration, piano sale, piano society, Piano Street, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld.com, Pierce Piano Atlas, private party piano sale, Robert Furst, Romantic era music, Romantic music, Sam Torcaso, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, The Frederick Collection, The Piano Book, Twenty five Progressive pieces by Burgmuller, used piano, Weber piano, word press, wordpress.com, York, you tube, you tube video

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

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

Aeolian piano, antiques, appraisal piano, authorsden, Bach Invention, Bach Prelude in C Major, Bach Two Part Inventions, Beethoven, bluebookofpianos.com, Brahms, California, cd baby, cdbaby, Chickering grand piano, Chickering piano, Chopin, Classical era, classical music, Classical period sonata, Craigs List, Creative Fresno, Domenico Scarlatti, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, essay, Facebook, Fig Garden Village, Fresno, Fresno California, Fur Elise, humor, J.S. Bach, JS Bach, Kawai, Larry Fine, Major and minor scales, Mariposa, memoir, mountain lions, Mozart, Mr. York, music, music history, music teachers association, music teachers association of california, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Old Fig Garden in Fresno, photos, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano purchase, piano repair, piano restoration, piano room, piano sale, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Pierce Piano Atlas, private party piano sale, private party piano sale, Riverdale California, satire, talkclassical.com, used piano, used pianos, word press, wordpress.com, York

A Day with Two Piano Finalists

A Kawai and Chickering were in a tight race, until one took off and surpassed the other. My whole Saturday was consumed with evaluating two pianos: a practically brand new "Kawai" 5'1" grand and a larger, nearly 5'8" size "Chickering," 1980. The Kawai captured my interest because a smaller studio upright of the same brand… Continue reading A Day with Two Piano Finalists

appraisal piano, authorsden, Baldwin piano, Beethoven, California, cast iron piano plate, cd baby, cdbaby, Classical era, classical music, Connell York, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Facebook, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Piano Store, Fresno Superior Court, Fur Elise, humor, in propria persona, memoir, music teachers association, music teachers association of california, music teachers associationo of California, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Fresno, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, photos, piano, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano maintenance, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technician, piano technician's guild, piano tuner, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, small claims court, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, uk-piano-forums, used piano, used pianos, word press, wordpress.com, York

Fighting for a Dream Piano (Hopefully it should not come to this)

This writing, true to the last detail is meant to give piano buyers a heads up about how to handle a situation where an Oral Agreement may be breached by a seller. The following ad was placed at the on line Fresno Bee Classifieds website: Published 07/12/07 00:00:00 PIANO Baldwin Baby Grand cherry, xlnt cond… Continue reading Fighting for a Dream Piano (Hopefully it should not come to this)

antique pianos, antiques, appraisal piano, authorsden, bluebookofpianos.com, cabinet grand, cd baby, cdbaby, Connell York, cracked piano plate, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Facebook, Fresno Piano Store, humor, Larry Fine, mice, moths, Mr. York, MTAC, music, music teachers association, music teachers association of california, my space, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Fresno, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, old upright, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano repair, piano restoration, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technician, piano technician's guild, piano tuner, piano tuning, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Pierce Piano Atlas, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Steinway grand piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, The Piano Book, uk-piano-forums, used piano, used pianos, word press, wordpress.com

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

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)

Aeolian piano, antique pianos, antiques, appraisal piano, arpeggios, Ashburnham, athletic training, authorsden, Bach Invention, Bach Prelude in C Major, Bach Two Part Inventions, Baldwin piano, Baroque music, Beethoven, Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, bluebookofpianos.com, boxing, Brahms, cabinet grand, California, Caroline Scheer, Casio, casio privia 110, cast iron piano plate, cat, Cato, cats, cd baby, cdbaby, Chesterfields, Chopin, Chopin Etude, Christian Zimerman, Classical era, classical music, Classical period sonata, Clavinova, Clinkscale's Makers of the Piano, Connell York, counterpoint, cracked piano plate, Craigs List, CVP509, digital piano, digital pianos, Domenico Scarlatti, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, electronic keyboard, estate sale, Exposition in piano sonata, Facebook, feline, felines, Fig Garden Village, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno designated landmark, Fresno Famous, Fresno Historical Society, Fresno miniseries, Fresno Piano Store, Fresno State Bulldogs, Fur Elise, General McArthur, Geneva International, great pianists, Guitar Center, humor, Infantry, Irwin Freundlich, J. Fritz piano, J.S. Bach, Japanese Music Institute Berkeley CA, JS Bach, Juilliard, Kawai, keyboard technique, Knight piano, Larry Fine, Lillian Freundlich, Liz on Top of the World, Major and minor scales, Masayuki Koga, Massachusetts, Massachussetts, memoir, mice, Mozart, Mozart sonata in C K545, Murray Perahia, music, music history, musicology, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Okinawa, old upright, Pacific Citizen, Paderewski, Patricia Frederick, Peabody Conservatory, pentachords, pentatonic song, Peter Wolf, pianist, piano, piano auction, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano maintenance, piano pedagogoy, piano pedagogy, piano repair, piano restoration, piano room, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technician, piano technician's guild, piano technique, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Santa Monica, satire, scales, Scarlatti, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, snowboard, snowboarding, Steinway and Sons, Steinway console, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, tennis, Terry Barrett, The devil in music, The Frederick Collection, The Meux Home, The Piano Book, The Well Tempered Clavier, Theory, trills, tritone, Tschaikovsky, Tulare and R Street, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, US Army, used piano, used pianos, veterans, vets, Victor Thasiah, video performances, Visalia California, Visalia Piano Gallery, Vladimir Horowitz, Waltzing Matilda, Weber upright piano, Well Tempered Clavier, West San Ramon Fresno, Wieser upright piano, Wolf Sound Studio, word press, wordpress.com, World War II, Wurlitzer piano, Yamaha Disclavier, Yamaha Disklavier, Yamaha piano, Yokohama, York, you tube, you tube video

DREAM PIANO: Overview and Acknowledgments

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

American Cancer Society Discovery Shop, antique pianos, antiques, appraisal piano, arpeggios, authorsden, Bach Prelude in C Major, bluebookofpianos.com, cabinet grand, cast iron piano plate, cd baby, cdbaby, Chesterfields, Classical era, classical music, Connell York, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, humor, JS Bach, keyboard technique, memoir, Mr. York, music, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Fresno, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, old upright, photos, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano lesson, piano repair, piano restoration, piano room, piano scales, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Rondo form, Sam Torcaso, satire, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Steinway and Sons, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, The Piano Book, The Well Tempered Clavier, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, used piano, used pianos, Victor Thasiah, word press, wordpress.com, Wurlitzer piano, York

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

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

appraisal piano, Baldwin piano, bluebookofpianos.com, cats, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Piano Store, humor, Kawa, Larry Fine, Mr. York, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, piano, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano lesson, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Pierce Piano Atlas, rats, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Steinway and Sons, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, The Piano Book, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, used piano, used pianos, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Samick, York, Tofujie and me: On the piano-chasing trail

York called me from a client's home in Clovis right after our great treasure-seeking adventure under the Kawai 7-foot grand piano. He'd been appraising a Samick studio upright manufactured in 1990 that was owned by Joel Van Ginkel. "I'd appraise it at about $2000," he said, "but between you 'n me, he'll unload the piana' for a lot… Continue reading Samick, York, Tofujie and me: On the piano-chasing trail

American Cancer Society Discovery Shop, antique pianos, appraisal piano, Ashburnham, authorsden, cd baby, Chopin, Clinkscale's Makers of the Piano, Connell York, Fresno, Fresno California, humor, Lillian Freundlich, Massachusetts, Massacusetts, memoir, music, music history, musicology, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, old upright, Patricia Frederick, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano lesson, Schumann, Uncategorized, Wieser upright piano

Patricia Frederick’s text is provided in full where it had some missing parts in the Fritz Blog.

Due to margin mechanics problems, part of Patricia Frederick's text was missing in today's blog on the Fritz piano, so here are the entire paragraphs which have relevance to the discussion. Patricia Frederick http://www.frederickcollection.org/ "What I particularly like about Viennese actions such as the Fritz, is that the single escapement gives such a direct sense of being in… Continue reading Patricia Frederick’s text is provided in full where it had some missing parts in the Fritz Blog.

antique pianos, appraisal piano, authorsden, Clinkscale's Makers of the Piano, Fresno, Fresno California, humor, J. Fritz piano, Massachusetts, Massachussetts, memoir, Mr. York, music history, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, old upright, Patricia Frederick, photos, pianist, piano, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano restoration, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technician, piano technician's guild, piano technique, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, satire, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, The Frederick Collection, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, used piano, used pianos, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The Fritz Piano of Vienna: A Romantic Era Reborn

On a wind swept day in March, while I was shopping in a busy Northwest Fresno plaza, I spotted a curvaceous baby grand piano through the open door of the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop. Its sunbathed, feminine profile and polished wood exterior drew me to it with the force of a magnet. Decades before, I… Continue reading The Fritz Piano of Vienna: A Romantic Era Reborn