Showing posts with label Steinway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steinway. Show all posts

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Steinway Serial Nos.


Year
Serial No.
Year
Serial No.
1920
200000
1970
418000
1930
270000
1972
426000
1940
300000
1974
436000
1942
310000
1976
445000
1944
316000
1978
455300
1946
319000
1980
468500
1948
324000
1982
478500
1950
331000
1984
488000
1952
337000
1986
498000
1954
343000
1988
507700
1956
350000
1990
516700
1958
358000
1992
523500
1960
366000
1994
530000
1962
375000
1996
537200
1964
385000
1998
545600
1966
395000
2000
554000
1968
405000
2002
563000

These serial numbers can be used only as a reference point.
An Exact date does not make a material difference to an assessment of a piano - a year or so out 120 years ago really is neither here more there.

The idea that 100% accuracy for all piano makers over a century ago is an interesting thought - but considering that all record keeping would be hand-written and kept in large ledger books, inaccuracies are likely. These records will be as reliable as the clerks whose job it was to keep them. The digital age of barcodes and scanned labels was still in the realm of science fiction. So we have to be content with our best guess numbers.

Back to the Piano Atlas

Monday 30 December 2013

A Good Piano

A good piano, wherever it is, appears to have an open invitation to any passing pianist to sit and play. Piano manufacturers like a Steinway, Bluthner, Bechstein, Fazioli, Bosendorfer etc. all have established reputations to maintain, and they continue to produce highly respected pianos which are greatly treasured by their owners! 

The search for a good piano usually eliminates the lesser-known, relatively inexpensive pianos. But many very fine pianos have faithfully served their owners and given hours and hours of music-making pleasure to all who appreciate piano music even though the name on the front may not be widely known.   

It is a mistake for pianists with more modest means, to think that buying a really good piano has to cost a fortune. For the more fortunate, no price is too much to pay for a particular piano. For most, the best piano available for a given cost will have to do. Interestingly, expensive does not guarantee 'good' and a low price does not always mean wasted money. There are so many variables with pianos that dogmatic generalisations are unhelpful. Seek advice where possible.

Popular opinion seems to prefer a grand piano over an upright piano. As a general rule however, a good upright piano is better than an average grand piano. A baby grand piano is chosen as much for its elegant looks as for its value as a piano. If you are wanting to spend a fixed amount of money on a baby grand OR an upright piano, almost certainly, the upright will be a better piano than the grand.

In days of old, to categorise grand pianos, odd names were used e.g. boudoir grands, semi-grands, cottage grands and mini grands. All had clear meanings when these pianos were sold originally, but today manufacturers generally distinguish their grand pianos by giving their size. The exceptions might be the terms Baby Grand and Concert Grand.

The very best pianos will always be expensive to buy. Most people manage to come to terms with the best piano they can afford. Dreams of one day buying a Steinway or something similar is a very worthy aspiration! Dreams - even dreams about pianos, come true!  
©  
Pianology

Wednesday 22 May 2013

Steinway Pianos - A Short History

The history of the Steinway Piano begins with Heinrich Steinweg. His father, a forester, had to leave his large family while taking his older sons with him to fight in the Napoleonic wars. On the father's return, only Heinrich and 2 other children had survived from the lack of proper food and shelter. Even this was not the harshest blow to hit the young Heinrich - shortly after, his father and the remainder of his family were all struck by lightening! Henrich's ability to survive was further proved when he was awarded a medal for bugling in the face of the enemy during the Battle of Waterloo.

After the war, while still in the army, he devoted his spare time to woodwork and the making musical instruments. He made a mandolin, a dulcimer and a zither. Perhaps he had absorbed an understanding of wood from his father, but his talent with wood was permanently to change his fortunes and by so doing, give the world of music the gift of the Steinway Piano!

Before long Heinrich had decided to devote all his time to the making of pianos. The political turmoil of 1848 threatened to interrupt the onward progress of the Steinweg family and business. His son Charles who had previously moved to New York, persuaded his father to join him in America. So it was that Heinrich Steinweg emigrated and changed his name to Henry Steinway.

Henry took great care in selecting timber for all the different parts of the piano. His innate understanding of wood was at the core of his piano building principles. His sons each absorbed Henry's vision and brought to the business their own skills and abilities as engineers, craftsmen and researchers.

1980s UK Letterhead

Firmly established as among the very best of piano makers, Steinways strengthened their place in the music world still more by sponsoring concerts and tours featuring the most prominent pianists from Europe and America. Consistently building success upon success, the Steinway Piano has earned its place on the concert platforms of the world. Many Steinway pianos become treasured heirlooms handed down from generation to generation.

The story of the Steinway piano began in the privations of the early 1800s but looks into the future with assured security and universal acclaim. - This is a worthy legacy from a young survivor with a talent with wood!  


©

Monday 26 March 2012

DO NOT WRITE ON MY PIANO

In days of old, tuners used to sign their name and write the tuning dates inside the piano, usually on the back of the keys where it was unseen by the owner. Occasionally, there might be the added comment, "Raised pitch." or "C = 522", or even, "C = 517"!

These notes, written in classic piano tuner's scribble, can take some deciphering but they are a reliable record of the piano's service history. Early in my career I used to tune a piano that had a complete list of tuning dates since the piano was new in about 1912, up until the 1930s. The tuning interval was generally every four months - with a few six-month gaps here and there. There was writing on nearly every key!

By way of contrast, a particular customer prepared for my arrival by taking the parts off the piano himself, and, just for my benefit, had written an A4 size sign which read: "NOTICE TO THE PIANO TUNER, DO NOT WRITE ON MY PIANO". A previous tuner had signed his name in it and was never asked to tune it again! The customer was a fascinating character - a very good pianist, full of amazing stories from the 1940s and 50s. He bought his piano in Bristol during the war, the day after an air raid!

Anyway, he was both proud and very fond of his piano, and wanted to keep it in as immaculate a condition as possible. There was no need for him to worry about my signing his piano - I have signed or initialled only about 5 pianos during my entire career - his, was not one of them!

While repairing a George Rogers piano a year or so ago, I found, on the underside of one of the keys, the hand-written words 'Glazebrook Pianos'. Now, I don't know if there is a family link, but there were Glazebrooks involved at Steinways! Whoever wrote on the underside of the key was very coy about what he was writing - only a tuner with reason to lift out that particular key would ever see it. Why bother?

The writing in some of these old pianos, does give them a social setting and a hint of the community history that goes with it. These scribbles on the inside of a piano, are authentic written records of the relationships built up between tuners, their clients and their pianos.

© Steve Burden