37 West 20th Street, CHELSEA

New York, NY 10011

(888) 456-4300
(212) 243-3474

Steinways, Yamahas, Baldwins, rebuilding. Basically a very small piano rebuilding outfit on the 11th floor of an old industrial building.

Frank La Piana, Steve Dresche and others. Joan Crossett (owner).

The New York City Piano Store Tour

Wednesday, January 19, 2000

It was a fortunate and pleasant experience to begin our tour seeing, hearing and playing this exceptional piano, setting our ears for what was to come. It was a 1919 Steinway "O", 5' 10" grand piano in hand rubbed African Mahogany, which if you haven't seen it is very dark, almost darker than Walnut. In the closer side shot below the finish looks red but it isn't really. This piano was dark, almost black. Essentially fully rebuilt, this classic piano included a new soundboard complete with Steinway decal, just as it had when new, a Renner action, recapped bridge, Steinway hammers and not the original ivories, nor rescaled. It sold to someone in Manhattan for $32K and was on its way out later that day.

What a gem! The best word I can use to describe the tone of this piano is "noble". I played Chopin and Brahms on it and fantasized that I was the reincarnated Arthur Rubinstein. It wasn't too hard to imagine. This piano had the magic Renner action and that quintessential pure classic Steinway tone. It was easy to see that this was what this piano had been like brand new and had been given decades of development ahead by its rebuilders.

There was another Steinway there in playable condition, an ebony model "B" which is another foot longer than the "O". It had nothing on this fine "O", not yet. These fellows are fine craftsmen, many with decades of experience at Steinway. They will work on this "B" with patience and good humor until they bring the best out of it. They sell no piano before its time.

While I was there, they were working on another older piano, make unknown, restringing a Steinway "S", that's the nice baby grand often found in New York penthouses. They were expecting the arrival of a 1920's vintage ebony Steinway "A3" 6' 4" grand later that day. It will be their next project. They have tentatively marked it up as selling for $37K.

On this tour, I was to discover just how much I preferred the sound of the Steinway "A" and "O" to other models. These are the models only made in Hamburg at the present time. I wonder why? The Steinway "L" is the same length as the "O" but has a "bell shaped" tail rather than the rounded tail shape of the "O". This bell shape was supposed to improve the bass response down the scale from middle c, allowing more soundboard area for added resonance. Somehow I've never been that excited about this model. To me, the "A"s always sounded better and so do the "O"s.

Anyway, if you are interested in a great rebuilt or restored piano like this classic Steinway, contact these folks and find out what they have on hand or are planning on working on. They are pleasant and their prices are competitive. They'll ship anywhere, but please come to New York and see what they have first.