"GET THIS!" A piano with sleekness and significant musical dimension: an eye and ear-catcher with a respectable pedigree among keyboard giants. Who can gloss over the Name Bluthner? I won't say more lest I spoil the uniqueness of the LOOKING and LISTENING experience. So UP and AWAY with alacrity! https://youtu.be/uiHX4GDW1NM
Apologetically, I must admit that as an acoustic piano purist, I often need an electronic when I'm doing a dinner party gig and there's no viable alternative. The house piano might be virtually impossible to play or there's no real piano on the premises. And while I love my Yamaha Arius YDP-141 for its touch/tonal… Continue reading Choosing a traveling (Portable) digital piano for myself
For twelve days pianos of all shapes and sizes were sprinkled through a verdant paradise as players with diverse repertoire from jazz to Classical serenaded clusters of listeners and a large brood of Canadian Geese. Nature's backdrop was irresistible. This white grand was a challenge to navigate with its stiff, moisture-filled action, though some players… Continue reading Flower Piano in photos at the San Francisco Botanical Garden
During my recent NYC touchdown for the occasion of my mother's memorial service, I found a weekend interval to make side trips to Faust Harrison Pianos' remarkable showrooms and factory. Serendipitously drifting into an inviting space on Piano Row's West 58th, just a block from Carnegie Hall, I was surrounded by Steinway grands that were… Continue reading My visit to Faust Harrison Pianos in Manhattan, and White Plains, New York
Who would have imagined that a new piano would be my special gift to myself! It was one week since my mother had passed away at 100 and I was devastated, shaken by the loss-- too distressed to be thinking about celebrating my upcoming birthday in any way. Yet when I saw an ad for… Continue reading My Birthday present to me!
I was hanging off the Gravitron at gym, as I shared inquiries about my FOR SALE Steinway with a personal trainer. Anonymously wrapped, my adventures seemed woven with psychological threads. In the first place, BANNER ads with MODEL AND PRICE were easy to digest, even without a DIGEST to memorialize all the details surrounding my… Continue reading The Psychology of buying and selling a piano
It's a good sign when a piano establishment is open on Memorial Day! In the glow of its colorful banner, Beethoven's was such a welcoming opportunity of which I availed myself. An important "player" on Manhattan's "piano row," it's one of a few restorers that also offers a selection of NEW instruments--like the Sauter (German)… Continue reading Beethoven Pianos on W. 58th is a treasure of restored pianos, and new ones, too.
Winding along a walking path to Berkeley's Arch, I clutched a self-made map as a guide to a posted rental. On Cedar, as I was about to make a left turn, I stopped to investigate a house that had an attractive sign announcing a concert. The neighborhood was new to me though it rekindled ties… Continue reading The Hillside Club: A Cultural Treasure with Three Lovely Pianos
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
Connell York, Piano Technician: York examines a moth hole in a hammer felt: Terry Barrett, RPT, Registered Piano Technician is pictured below getting ready to tune the Aeolian table style piano. In the process, he discovered its true date of manufacture as April, 1936 (engraved into a key after he pulled the action) confirming York's… Continue reading More Photos from my Dream Piano Adventures
