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August 2012 Cavendish Pianos The London Steinway Frankfurt Musikmesse Go Britain! Could the ‘Cavendish’ start the resurgence of the British piano industry in this Olympic year?
August 2012
Cavendish PianosThe London SteinwayFrankfurt Musikmesse
Go Britain! Could the ‘Cavendish’ start the resurgence of the British piano industry in thisOlympic year?
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August 2012 3
The next deadline for PTA News isFriday 14th September 2012.
PTA News is the Newsletter for the PianoforteTuners’ Association. All views expressed are those ofthe contributors and do not necessarily reflect theviews of the PTA or the editorial team.
Please address letters intended for publication to‘The Editor’, preferably sent via email, computer diskor typed. If by email or disc please send photos
separately to the text. Items can only be returned ifaccompanied by an SAE. Please obtain the necessarypermission before submitting copyrighted items.
PTA NewsCobblestonesChurch LaneGreat HollandFRINTON-ON-SEAEssex CO13 [email protected]
For your advertising in PTA News, at very reasonable rates, please contact:Tania Staite, Flat 8, Deepdene, 15 Streatham Common Northside, London, SW16 3HQ.
Copy may then be emailed to the Editor at:[email protected]
Editorial — 4
President Writes — 5
Membership News — 6
PTA/Steinway Study Day — 7
Michael Glazebrook — 8
London Steinway Found — 9
Brinsmead — 11
Students’ Pages — 12
Cavendish Pianos — 14
Frankfurt Musikmesse — 16
Council Report — 17
Europiano Congress — 19
PTA Tuning Reminders — 22
Clive Benson — 22
Letters — 25
PTA Diary — 27
It all looks
harmlessenough
until yougo to
Page 11
4
As I write this the LondonOlympics are in full swing and areabsolutely fantastic!
Despite all the typically Englishmoans and grumbles I have heard overthe last 7 years about our staging of thegames, pretty well everybody seems to bewatching it now, the nation has Olympicfever and it appears we have done anamazing job at staging the event for theworld.
How quick we can be to criticize andbring people down and then end upenjoying the ‘feel good factor’ and upliftevents like this give us all.
Constructive criticism is all very wellbut I don’t think we give enough praise orcredit when it’s due and that probablygoes for how we think of ourselves too; itmust be a British thing; we like tostruggle through adversity don’t we?
In my pathetic attempt to link in toLondon 2012 I was going to call this the
‘Olympic Issue’ but thankfully decidedbetter of it. My nod to the event is anarticle by Andrew Day about a ‘London’Steinway that he has found on the Isle OfWight and new British produced‘Cavendish Pianos’.
You certainly won’t find me dishingout grumpy criticism at the CavendishPianos venture. I think it’s fantastic!
Here we have a British firm‘Yorkshire Pianos’, taking the vast riskand initiative in the endeavour to useBritish skills and expertise to at least
‘produce’ a piano here that may lead tobigger and better things.
No one would pretend that a projectlike this will be a guaranteed success or inany part easy going but it needs someonewith guts to go for it to make thesesuccesses happen, even when there seemto be doubters at every turn. All credit tothe Cavendish team and rest assured ofsupport from PTA News!
It’s all very exiting.Indeed, Adam Cox hasjust told me that they planto produce 132 pianos by September.Read more about it on page 14.
On occasions I have to admit togetting in a bit of a rut with my tuning butit never takes long until something out ofthe ordinary comes along to reignite myinterest.
Such an event happened recentlywhen I came across something I hadnever seen on my round before and youcan find out what that was on Page 11.
Before that on page 9 is a similarlyunusual find. At the PTA Convention inMay, a free talk was given about theLondon Steinway Factory from the1920’s. Eagle eyed Andrew found a pianothat was produced from there and hasbeen kind enough to tell us all about it.
It’s not only unusual pianos that canmake our job so interesting. The peoplewe meet and the stories we hear canchange our whole view of the world andthis has certainly been the case for me.Meeting customers is one of the best partsof my job and I have learned so muchfrom them over the years.
So if you’re ever feeling a bit downwith your job or you feel you’re drifting,take it from me, sometimes just like thebest Olympians, it’s best to fight throughthat ‘wall’ to reach good things the otherside of it.
Whatever your goals be they simple orOlympian I wish you all the very best inachieving them and enjoying thestruggle along the way.
HappyTuning.....
Matthew Gough
August 2012 5
Keith Owen
Buried in myPresident'sReport at theA.G.M.,(published in the last PTA News)was the announcement that I shallbe standing down as Presidentnext year.
I know that John Lambert, who hasbeen a stalwart Vice President, alsowishes to retire from this job. That meansthat two key positions in the P.T.A. needto be filled next year – the year of ourCentenary.
When I joined the P.T.A. the lastthing I envisaged was taking on thePresidency, or even being on Council; butfor all its ups and downs I have enjoyeddoing it, not least because of thefriendship and support I have found. Candidates for the Presidency andVice-Presidency must have been P.T.A.Members for four years and have servedon the Executive Council for two years atany time. If you've been away fromCouncil for a while and want to get
involved again, why notconsider it? I hadn't beenon Council for two or threeyears when I took over, but Idusted off the cobwebs and did my best.
Nominations for President and VicePresident have to be submitted threeweeks before the A.G.M. in May 2013;nominations for Council Members can besubmitted at the A.G.M. If you are newto the P.T.A., why not get involved?Once you are a Member you are eligiblestraight away and it's a great way to get toknow people.
The P.T.A. has lasted for nearly ahundred years. It needs new ideas andnew directions to thrive for the nextcentury.
Best wishes,
Keith.
M and M
Specialist French Polishingand Casework Restoration
Accredited by Fergus Hoeywww.alcyonis.co.uk
Tel No. 01603 872783Mobile: 07876 687383 or 07931 155191
Welsh School ReunionDid you attend the Welsh School of Musical Instrument Making and Repair?
Are you still in touch with any non-P.T.A. ex-students? As part of the lead up toour Centenary Year we are hoping to organize a reunion lunch for all whoattended. Contact Keith Owen (01789 298987 or [email protected]) if you are
interested or know anyone else who would be.
6
Annette SummersA warm welcome to the following new PTA Member:
1225 Mr Matthew James Richards24 Goldthorne AvenuePennWOLVERHAMPTONWV4 5ABTel: 01902 654667 Mob: 07784 142800Email: [email protected]
and to a new PTA Patron:
Mr Allen Wright6 Clay Court219 Long LaneLONDON SE1 4PB
Please note these changes to the PTA Year Book:
1117 Miss Gillian Stone has moved to:12 Cheviot Close, Quedgley, GLOUCESTER GL2 4TRNew Telephone Number: 01452 690819
1223 Stephen Droy has moved to India: Flat 503/4 A
Lake Lucerne, Lake Homes, Powai Mumbai 400072, INDIA
Apologies to:
A61 Mr Douglas Mcbay who was omitted from the Year Book by mistake:0/2 7 Kay Street, GLASGOW G21 1JYTel: 0141 5586421 Fax: 0141 3321863 Mobile: 07768 585082Email: [email protected]
1101 Mr H J BurgessHis correct mobile number should read 07530 121713
H767 Lewis Flisher does not cover the following Post Towns:Broadstairs, Folkstone, Hythe (Kent), London (Central), Maidstone,
Margate, Sandwich, Sittingbourne or TenterdenHowever he does cover:Ashford (Kent), Canterbury, Faversham, Herne Bay, Ramsgate and
Whitstable Please send all changes of address, telephone and email to The Secretary
using the contact details on Page 27
August 2012 7
Steinway Study DaySaturday 13th October 2012at Steinway Hall in London
A rare opportunity to hear Daniel Levitan – one oftoday's foremost experts on tuning – as he goes right
through the process of tuning a piano, discussing bothmanual and aural technique as well as the problem of
inharmonicity and how to deal with it. This is a once in alifetime opportunity – book early to avoid disappointment.
Booking form with this issue!
8
Nigel Polmear
Michael was born on 12th May1931 and died on 22 March 2012.
Michael was a very keen footballerand at one stage was selected to play forthe under 19 England youth team. Therewere also football "trials" for variousteams, one of which was for TottenhamHotspurs.
But it would be his Grandfather(who worked for Steinway as a pianotuner) who would change Michael'scareer from one of football to that ofpianos with the words, "we need to getyou a proper job as there's no money infootball!"
And so, on the 2nd of August 1945,he started an apprenticeship in thebasement of the Steinway showrooms at1&2 St Georges Street, Hanover Square,London.
In 1965, Steinway decided to open aworkshop for the servicing andrestoration of pianos (at Dukes Rd, ParkRoyal, West London ) and it was Michaelwho was chosen to become the managerto oversee and establish this project. Thisworkshop had 15 apprentices, frenchpolishers and a separate upright pianosdepartment (a spray shop was introducedlater for more modern pianos requiringcellulose spray).
In 1969, Michael was one of a groupof people from the piano industry thatwould set up a government course to beknown as: The City and Guilds ThreeYear Block Release Course in MusicalInstrument Technology. The course wasrun from the Furniture and Allied ArtsCollege, to become known, amongstother names, as the London College ofFurniture.
It was in the mid 1980's that he wasinvited by the P.T.A to give classes at the
annual PTA Convention, and it wasthrough Michael that the barriers werestarting to come down between Steinwayand the 'rest of the trade'. It was alsoduring this period that he would establishlinks with the piano department at theCollege for the Blind in Hereford in a roleas examiner of their work.
If he had any fear of flying, now wasthe time to get over it, as from now on,for every six weeks he would travelacross the Atlantic to Steinway, LongIsland. At this time, Steinway was in thevery early and tentative stages of alteringtheir workshops & production methodswith a view to combining the technicalknowledge of their Hamburg, London andNew York establishments. Apparently, hedemonstrated these methods to his staffby gluing a roll of wallpaper lengthwaysto a wall and made a diagram upon it ofthe complete construction of the Steinwaypiano; from the tree log to the key youlock it up with (it must have been a longwall! )
Eventually, when Steinway Londonmoved from its Hanover Square premisesto its present location ( Marylebone Lane,London W1 ) Michael's position changedfrom that of Workshop Manager toDirector of Technical Services.
Mr Glazebrook retired from Steinway& Sons on the 31st of December 1993.
The PTA send theircondolences to Michael’s
Family and friends. Also gratitude for all his
great service to the pianoindustry over many years.
August 2012 9
Andrew Day
Many who attended the PTAConvention this year will haveheard the excellent lecture fromAllen Wright and read Matthew’sreport on the “The Lost LondonSteinway Factory”.
I attended the lecture but unfortunatelyat the time did not make a note of theserial numbers of the missing pianosassembled at Park Royal.
However as I was tuning one of myregular client’s Steinway O on the Islandat the end of June the serial numbercaught my attention 206132, with asudden recollection that this was a similarserial number to the ones Allen mentioned.
After checking the date of manufacture,which fitted, I photographed the serialnumber and emailed it to Allen.
To my surprise “Well spotted!” wasthe response. One missing Steinwayfound!
The piano was originally sent to aMs Garar in Southend and is nowprivately owed on the Isle of Wight (notby Ms Garar!)
The photos below show the serialnumber and to whom it was sent from theSteinway number book.
PHOTO 3
Allen Wright gave an excellent talk at the Convention this yearabout the ‘lost’ Steinway Factory that was set up in London in 1919(see report in the June PTA News, page 22).
Having attended the talk, Andrew Day actually found one of thepianos which came from the London factory. Here is his report.
The Isle of Wight piano has a date of 21st December 1921and the frame appears to have come into London from Hamburg
Continued Overleaf
10
While there seems tobe no major differenceswith this instrument, aftersending Allen a furtherselection of photos hecommentated on the styleof lettering and that he hasnever seen hammers withthat particular shade ofdark green underfelt.
The instrument has nothad any major rebuildingwork carried out on it otherthan a new bass string anda recovered keyboard andunfortunately is not in the
best of condition, the action is suffering and there are some loose wrest pins.However the case work is in good condition, the instrument is well used and has a
remarkably good tone!
Andrew Day with the London Steinway
August 2012 11
Matthew Gough
It all looked straight forward enough until I opened the lid! The Brinsmead TopTuner was patented in May 1881 and the idea was to spread the stress horizontallyrather than vertically.
It works a little bit like a guitar string on amachine head. An extra perforated metalflange in the cast iron frame takes a
‘hollowed out’ threaded rod through which thestring can pass and attach to a screw headedbolt. To hold the rod in place there are twohexagonal nuts.
These nuts need a special shaped tool totune them. Luckily for me, a previous tunerseems to have left such tuning aids for tunersin his or her wake.
I have to say that I found tuning the pianovery tricky despite other tuners seeming tofind tuning stability far improved to normalpiano design according to internet forums.
However, it seems that althoughthousands were made in the 1880s and1890’s many tuners of the day refused towork on them and they were discontinued.
I don’t think I’ll be crying about that!
12
If you’re a student, graduate, or are just starting out, thenthis section is for you
My view of the PTA Convention 2012, Hereford by Lorraine Bolger 3rd
year student at NewarkI was fortunate to attend last year’s Convention in Worksop but only as a
visitor to the Saturdaymorning class. This year Idecided I would have a betterexperience if I stayed overand attended a couple ofclasses; after all it’s my finalyear at college and I deservedsome time out from family lifetoo.
Everyone I met was veryfriendly and helpful, nothingwas too much trouble. I soonfelt relaxed even though I wason my own; a lot of peoplewho attend the conventiontake their other halves withthem.
It was good having the trade stands available where you could see tools,materials and parts; you could make orders in person rather than a phone call.
I was treated to a pre-dinner presentation about the Lost London SteinwayFactory 1919 – 1928. This was excellent and there were some wonderful oldblack and white photographs of the site and of the people involved, includingsome of the workforce assembling the rim of a grand piano.
The food at the Hotel was brilliant and I enjoyed dining with an interestingtuner who had many stories to tell. The after dinner atmosphere in the bar wasall embracing even if it did take a long time to get my drink. There was an oldupright piano, which I think was of German origin being played; mostly pianoRags such as Black and White Rag (from Pot Black) and other popular music.
The following day, Saturday and another decent meal (breakfast) sharedwith conversations varying from families to piano history and college days. Ihad booked to stay for the Convention Lunch, it was again a very friendlyoccasion and there was much laughter and the food was fantastic; I didn’tneed to eat for the rest of the day! After lunch, I was honoured to be given anaward from the PTA and so ended my experience of the 2012 Convention.
If you want to go somewhere where you can swap ideas and meet peoplewho are extremely friendly and knowledgeable, I recommend that you go thenext PTA Convention, I certainly hope I will be able to go next year.
THE PTA CONVENTION – A STUDENTS’ VIEW
Receiving the Val Addis Memorial Award at the PTAConvention lunch from President Keith Owen
NEXT YEAR THE PTA CENTENARY CONVENTION IS INBOURNEMOUTH FROM 2ND TO 5TH MAY
August 2012 13
Smile when you’re on the phone, even if you feel grumpy….yourvoice changes when you smile and people like the sound.Ask who plays the piano and show some interest in the prospectivecustomer. They think they are only person with a piano that youknow.You need to quote them your ‘standard tuning charge’ but makeclear that there maybe extras if there is more to do. Don’t starttalking money straight away though, like I say you’re not a Banker!Don’t answer the phone like a gormless teenager or let one answer it.Say brightly ‘Hello, this is (insert your name here) speaking.Make sure you have a concise answerphone message that temptspeople to bother to leave one themselves and phone back quickly.
MGIt’s for you…hoo…
OpportunitiesIf you are newly qualified and just starting up, then how’s
this for an opportunity?HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF STARTING A NEW LIFE SOMEWHERE TOTALLY
DIFFERENT?BEFORE YOU START BUILDING UP A BIG TUNING ROUND THAT YOU ARE
LOATH TO LEAVE PERHAPS NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE THE MOVE.LoNA’S PIANOS ARE a piano restoration company BASED IN SOUTH
AFRICA AND are LOOKING FOR PIANO TUNERS FROM HERE TO GO AND WORKOVER THERE!
FOR MORE INFO. Email: [email protected] web address is www.lonaspianos.co.za
GOOD LUCK, AND DON’T FORGET TO INVITE ME OVER FOR A HOLIDAY.
What they don’t tell you at college
Ever been in a shop and not bought anything because of the grumpy sod behind thecounter? Maybe you’ve decided not to eat in the pub because they can’t even bebothered to bring you the menu you asked for 10 minutes ago. Most good businesspeople will tell you that whoever they put ‘front of house’ is the most importantperson in their business.
Your telephone is ‘front of house’ and you (or whoever answers it) are the one togive that all important ‘first impression’. So, if you want enquiries to become tuningsbe pleasant, friendly and charming. You’re not a bank Manager or a Financial Advisor(thank goodness) so there’s no need to sound arrogant or condoscending.
Here’s a few tips….
14
Matthew Gough
In a very exiting developmentwe have news of a brand newBritish piano!
Charlie and Adam Cox who runYorkshire Pianos are the husband andwife team behind the new UK produced
‘Cavendish’ piano.The drive behind their venture comes
from a desire for a British piano fromtheir customers as well as a longing for amellow sound that most of us rememberfrom bygone days.
The Headingly showroom they haverun for the past 15 years was not bigenough to house the project so they endedup converting a large ‘barn’ stylebuilding on the site of Bolton Abbey, thereclaimed ecclesiastical panelling makingit look more like an old church than theforge it was originally!
The estate of Bolton Abbey belongs tothe Duke and Duchess of Devonshirewho have become Patrons of the project,which is why ‘Cavendish’ seemed theperfect brand name, that being the Familyname of the Duke and Duchess.
Adam and Charlie have put together aBritish team of piano experts to build the
‘Cavendish’ piano including the PTA’sown Barney Unwin as string maker,David Wilson as designer and concertpianist Emmanuel Vass as consultant.
In this day and age it would be verydifficult or even impossible tomanufacture a purely British piano.However, a piano produced here with UKoversight and expertise but using a mix ofBritish and worldwide parts has thepotential to be a great booster for thepiano industry in the UK.
This pragmatic approach has beenconfirmed to PTA News by Adam, whohas just told me the news that they will beentering into a partnership with Sauterpianos and will be sourcing some partsfrom them including frames and theiraccompanying Renner actions.
The first pianos certainly went down astorm at Frankfurt earlier this year.
‘We had a very successful launch ofthe concept and brand at Frankfurt andmet with a large number of pianoprofessionals’ Adam told me.
‘ The over-riding feeling was that aBritish piano is very much needed andcould well be a success. We receivedsubstantial feedback concerning what
August 2012 15
should and should not be part of a Britishpiano – often conflicting views! We hadmany offers from dealers to stockCavendish in the UK and further afield.At this stage we have made no decisionson a dealer network.
Perhaps the most interesting thing forus was the many manufacturers whoapproached us with, not only words ofencouragement but also offers forcollaboration and we are currently in talkswith some manufacturers with a view tojoint production in the UK.
We are thus back in the position ofproducing prototype pianos and carefullylooking at production costs and methods.This process will continue until we areready with reasonable stock levels tosupply a select number of outlets’
Before going to press I heard fromAdam that things have progressed furtherand they are hoping to produce 132 pianosbefore September.
For more information go to theCavendish website :www.cavendishpianos.com/about.html
At firstglimpse theCavendishuprights certainlylook rather classyinstruments.
The retractingmusic stand onthe black piano isa nod to the pastand could help itto stand out fromthe crowd andare those
‘bookholders’ Isee before me?Hooray!!!
The plan is toproduce 3 uprights, The Classic, theTraditional and the Contemporary.
Two Grands are also in the offing,the Cavendish Baby Grand at 152cmlong and the Boudoir at 168 cm.
Best of luck to them!!
Adam Cox with two of the new CavendishPianos at Frankfurt. Adam aims to utiliseBritish expertise such as Hainsworth inLeeds who produce cloth and felt and BritishHardwoods, based in the Yorkshire Dales.
16
TheGermanpiano makerswere out inForce thisyear at theFrankfurtMusikmesse,where theyjoined theirEuropeancolleagues ina dedicatedhall.
Followinga notableabsence from thefair in recentyears, itrepresented a warm welcome back for thelocal piano builders who in the past werelost amongst the well-represented Chinesebuilders and restorers.
This year saw displays from Sauter,Steingraber, Schimmel, WILM Steinberg,Fazioli, Blüthner, Grotrian Steinweg,Bösendorfer, Petrof, Rönisch, Seiler andSchulze & Pollmann. Most companieshad a new piano to show off, and the bestwas the latest offering from Bosendorfer,with Brian Kemble MBE on hand todiscuss the changes.
Among the displays of pianos were theusual allied trade stands including 3German keyboard manufacturers, 3 supplyhouses, a bass string maker, a harpsichordmaker and some action maker (neverheard of them before!!).
Europiano also had a stand which wasmanned throughout the show by variousmembers.
There were various launches of newmodels usually accompanied by free wineand nibbles during the show.
Elsewhere there was the usualdeafening halls with restrictions of noiselevels posted everywhere. These seemedto be routinely ignored and my ears rangjust looking in the doorway.
The Chinese and other piano makersand repairers were banished to a rathergrim looking hall in the basement.
Kawai had a massive stand with ourold PTA friend Neil Sale on hand to showtheir latest offerings.
The Polish rebuilders were also out inforce with lots of shiny looking “older”pianos. Although I have to admit theirstands were very well thought out andlooked good.
There were numerous Chinesemanufacturers displaying various types ofpianos, however the Pearl River stand wasthe best with the pianos presented well.They were in tune and the regulation wasup to standard. I must admit they aregetting better every year.
One of the most eagerly awaiteddisplays was from Yorkshire Pianos who
David Fry
August 2012 17
were displaying 2 of their Cavendishuprights. It was a shame they were notoffered a place in the European hall.
The pianos were well presented withlots of Union Jack logos on the stand.
I did get a chance to look over thepianos and asked all the questions thatneeded to be asked.
It was nice to see a company sopassionate about making pianos. Theywill be appointing agents throughout thecountry and are currently setting up adistribution structure.
I know some people will say they arenot “real” English pianos, however thereare several German makers that useChinese parts in their construction andcall them German made and this isaccepted in Europe.
Overall I felt the show numbers weredown on previous years, although I’msure the numbers will be shown to be up!
The public were let in on the Friday andthis made for hard work on the standswith people on the lookout for freebies!
There were not many English dealersthere and no PTA members visiting,hence I got the job to write the report.
There was however a feel goodatmosphere to the show and most dealershad taken decent orders.
Socially the best evening was theparty for the exhibitors with a live bandmade up of various session musicianswho had played for the like of Madonnaand Michael Jackson. The singer, Idiscovered afterward, had been the leadsinger with the band Toto. It was onlywhen he sang a few of their numbers thatI realised I recognised some of the songs.After the show he passed among the greatunwashed and chose to speak to me. Thus ended the evening, full of freebeer and burgers!
Matthew GoughThe meeting of the Executive
Council was held on 21st July atMorleys, Lewisham.
Present were Keith Owen (President),John Lambert (Vice President), AndrewJamieson (Treasurer), Annette Summers(Secretary), Ann Burton, Barry Caradine,Matthew Gough, Nigel Polmear andTania Staite.
Apologies were received from ColinCrawford and Joseph Taylor.
Brian Frost and Lewis Flisher attendedas observers.
There had been one PTA test and theapplicant had been successful.
There had been an application tobecome a PTA Patron which wasaccepted.
Draft guidelines for PTA ExecutiveCouncil Members covering issues such assuch as confidentiality were discussed andadopted by Council.
Plans for our centenary Conventionnext May in Bournemouth are progressingwell. The 2014 Convention will be inBolton. We are looking for a venue for2015.
A vote was taken which unanimouslyendorsed the work of the Convention sub-committee. It was decided to rename themthe Convention Team and from now onthe task of the team will be undertaken asa ‘delegated duty’ and not as a
‘sub-committee’.There had been an offer for the PTA to
purchase an unused tool kit and this willbe looked into.
It was decided to reinstate the JulyExecutive Council meeting permanently.
The next meeting will be Saturday29th September at 12pm at Morleys,Lewisham.
August 2012 19
Keith OwenIn June I attended theEuropiano Congress which thisyear was arranged by the Dutchassociation, the VvPN. and held inAmersfoort, a few miles fromAmsterdam.
I was out of bed at around 2.30amWednesday morning to make sure I hadtime for breakfast at the airport before Icaught my flight, arriving at the venue,the International School for Philosophy,at around mid morning. On the way I metup with fellow member Martin Locke,who was there as Delegate for theA.B.P.T., with his wife Kaye. I have toadmit at this point that if it had not beenfor Kaye organising the train tickets Iwould have ended up going in the wrongdirection!
I was there for the 6th and 7th June,the purpose of my visit being to attend theEuropiano Degree Meeting on theWednesday evening, and the A.G.M. thefollowing morning, but of course in themeantime I was able to talk to, and makefriends with many really nice people; anddiscover, of course, that they all have thesame concerns and experiences (andmake the same jokes) that we doregarding customers, pianos and life ingeneral.
I had interesting conversations withDavid Stanwood, the inventor ofAdjustable Leverage Control – aningenious and fascinating way ofadjusting touch; Hans Velo, whoseprogramme for calculating bass string
scales is widely used to optimise tone andtuning characteristics, as well as his useof magnets to adjust weight of touch; andJuan Más Cabré who founded Pure Soundstainless steel piano wire and is a greatenthusiast for historic instruments. I wishI could have been there for the whole ofthe Congress.
Of course, there were trade standswith the usual fascinating array of toolsand materials and numerous technicalclasses, including:
"Your Tools" with David Andersen,"Renewing a Grand Piano Action" with
Kevin Gouldmann."Optimising Sound and Touch" with
The Congress VenueTrade Stands
An interesting use for carbon fibre levers
20
Hans Velo,"Interaction between Tuner and Player"
with Geoffrey Madge and Henk Hupkes(pianist and technician), "Soundboards"with Ulrich Sauter & Thomas Hilz,
"Abel Hammers, New and Repaired",with Norbert Abel,
"Precision Touch Design" with WimFeldhouse & Frans Pietjouw,
"Adjustable Leverage Action" withDavid Stanwood,
"New Developments in Constructionand Industry" and "Voicing WithoutNeedles" with Wolfgang Schäffler,
"Installation of the Full-Fitted PinBlock", "European-style Grand PinblockReplacement" and "Recapping the BassBridge", with André & Christian Bolduc.
Every one of these classes was inEnglish, so I was not entirely surprisedwhen Robbert Westera of the DutchAssociation expressed his disappointmentat the lack of P.T.A. Members inattendance. It's a pity it all coincided with
the Diamond Jubilee celebrations,because it was a truly enjoyableexperience – even for the short time I wasthere. The location for the next Congress(2015) is yet to be decided betweenRussia and Italy. If you have anythoughts on this, let me know and I willvote accordingly at the next E.P.Delegates' meeting.
The whole event was extrememelywell organized – the VvVPN used aprofessional company. To my mind itshowed what a fantastic job our ownConvention Team does voluntarily.
The Soo Cho Quartet Entertains
These have now been reprinted and are an excellent way to give boththe PTA and yourself a little publicity. They give general advice to thecustomer on looking after their piano and there is a space for you to putyour own details and to mention other services such as piano sales,stools etc.
I have always given a leaflet out to every new customer since Ibecame a PTA Member and find that many customers leave the leafletprominently on or by the piano so they can easily find my own details.
They are a very reasonable price and I highly recommend them.
£6.00 for 50 plus postage Contact the PTA Secretary, details Page 27
August 2012 21
22
Cast your mindback to aprevious Newsletter.
I sponsored a competition toencourage you all to make more use ofthis easy-to-use feature on the PTAWebsite. On offer was a £20 Amazonvoucher to the tuner who encouraged themost customers to sign-up between April1st and June 30th.
I have the results and they areconclusive;
Total of 64 registrations between thetwo dates....
Mr Anderson 1Mr Beglin 17Mr Butterworth 1Mr Donovan 31Mr Fox 6Mr Kennedy 2Ms Rudd 6
Nigel wins hands down. The TuningReminder was his idea and he goes outand sells it to his customers and itWORKS so why aren’t you using it? Thiswould save you a lot of time since the
customer has the reminderin their Inbox on the 2nd ofthe month it’s due so it’s infront of them. Whilst you’re talking withthem about it you could book aprovisional date and the reminder wouldconfirm the appointment month – you doa follow-up reminder call the night before,another guaranteed tuning. All thesethings are to assist with the most difficultpart of the job, booking work. (WHY doso many children answer the phone whenthere’s NO chance the call will be forthem – and why do parents allow them toanswer it?)
The number of users of this facility(including some tuners who haveregistered themselves either to test it or sothey know when to do their own piano…)is 562. Sadly this is since mid-December2008. If 250 tuners have an average of1000 customers the log ought to show250,000 registered tuning reminders. At562 there is a long way to go. Start today.
Congratulations Nigel – I think theHaynes manual is available on AmazonJ
Paul Fox
Further Education 2 - Taking Care Of The Pennies
It was a year and a day since Ihad tuned the piano at theSouthbank University, in Elephant& Castle, and it seemed fitting tomark this milestone by returning tofind out how things wereprogressing with regard to beingpaid.
Despite their assurancesthat it would be taken care of, I had heardnothing since my last visit three monthsago. I was not looking forward to thislatest visit and felt very bored as I walkedalong from the tube station, and couldn'teven understand why I was bothering topursue it. It wasn't as if I was motivatedby knowing they wanted me to give up,
August 2012 23
since they didn't give that impression, andso it seemed as if in part I must have beenpersevering for their benefit.
The receptionist rang the two people Ihad spoken to before, but neither wasthere. The woman was on leave and theman only worked three days a week. Andso he rang someone else. I didn't hold outmuch hope but in fact this person agreedto see me. Why? They could surely haverefused. Her room was on the third floorand she was leaning into the corridorwhen I came out of the lift. She showedme into her office and I sat down at around table. As I began to explain Idistinctly heard her say 'This bloodyplace!' under her breath. For some reasonthere were no lights on in the office, andso it was quite dark. She took some notesand promised she would do what shecould, but also said it wasn't herdepartment, so there was a limited amountshe could do about it. Although I didn'thave the courage to stage a sit-in I did goon sitting there long enough for her to goback to her computer to send an emailthere and then to the woman at the top ofthe chain. She even said she would 'copyme in' to this email, so that I would have arecord of it. Indifference then began toget the better of me, until that is she said Ishould chase it up if I heard nothing,whereupon I said I didn't see why I shouldhave to chase it up. But was thisindignation or just laziness? In any caseshe agreed with this and put something tothat effect in the email. Then sheapologised again and I thanked her andleft.
As I walked away from the building Ithought how ludicrous it was for there tobe a university in Elephant & Castle. Thecountry had gone to the dogs and I waspowerless to do anything about it. In myday for example I had dropped out ofuniversity, but these days would even thathave been worth it?
What was most annoying was that itwas nowhere near the south bank.Corporate make-believe was obviously afeature of modern life, but even so Iresolved that thenceforth I would refer toit as Elephant & Castle University. WhenI got home I saw that sure enough I hadbeen copied in to the email, and that in itshe had made a comment about how outof pocket I was, with all the letters andvisits. And nor did I have to chase it upeither because the very next day Ireceived an email from the man who onlyworked three days a week (this being oneof them), saying how terribly embarrassedhe was to discover that nothing had beendone since my last visit.
He said he would chase it up butadded that the delay might have beencaused by the fact that they had lost myinvoice. He assured me I would be paidbut in the meantime it might be helpful ifI sent another one. Only now I am in aquandary as to whether to send a copy ofthe original invoice, or to submit a newone with additional expenses. In the end Iopt for the former option, as the lattermay confuse them and slow the processdown.
To be continued.
Are you about to start working on an interesting piano in yourworkshop or on your rounds? Why not take a few photos as you work
and write a report about it for PTA News?
August 2012 25
Stringing at FazioliI was lucky enough to go on the
trip to the Fazioli factory in Italyearlier this year. Our impressionof the operation was one of space,calm, and of minute attention todetail. The un-hurried productionprocess was assisted by somepretty hi-tech and in some caseshefty bits of equipment.
One thing in particular caughteveryone’s attention and that wasthe work of the stringer, who wasboth making the bass strings andfitting them. We generally useone of two methods of stringing.The first and most frequentlytaught is where coils are made onthe wrestpin before it is driven in.The second is where the bare pinis partly driven into the wrestplankand then the coils are made on thepin in situ. I have seen bothmethods used at very high speedby stringers working like dementedrobots! None of that at Fazioli.Their method seemed to avoidany hammering. A floor mountedmachine which resembled asophisticated drill-stand wasoperated by a foot-pedal. It woundthe wrestpin in to a set height, thestringer inserted the string into theeye, and the coils were completedcourtesy of the machine. All wasvery calm and methodical. I thinkwe all wished we had one of thosegadgets…and plenty of time touse it. I wonder how many other
manufacturers make their ownbass strings at the time of fitting?
Adrian Carpenter (1057)
I recently arrived at the home ofa long-standing client who is nowa successful piano teacher but forwhom I have been tuning since hewas a musically promising boy. Henow has a new Kawai but he didall his studies on a fine old Mörs &Co. from Berlin which wasregularly serviced.
In the corner of the musicstudio I noticed and commentedon an interesting art installation(pictured). This piece of sculpture
Germ Free Piano
Continued Overleaf
26
seemed somehow vaguely familiar.My client’s reaction was to throwhis hands in the air and relate thefollowing tale.
When the new piano arrived athis home the Mörs & Co. wassurplus to requirements so it wasoffered to a Home for the Elderly.Unknown to my client, themanager of the Home was apassionate amateur woodworker.
Some months later my clientopened his door to a delegationfrom the Home bearing a gift. Thework of art had been speciallycrafted for his pleasure from whathad been a perfectly serviceableand beautifully toned instrument. Idon’t think he showed his horrorand it gave him an interestingstory to relate to his musicalfriends.
Although the ‘artist’ had notvalued the piano he had carefully
preserved a tin of Germolene thathe found in it and included it at theback of the installation.
Ross Horsey (1079)
According to Katie Melua there are 9,000,000 bicycles in Japan but I bet none of themare chained to the iron frame of a piano like this one, snapped by Barney Unwin whilst in
Warsar. They’re probably in better shape too!
August 2012 27
Please note these dates for your diary:
13th October 2012PTA /Steinway Study Day at Steinway Hall London
with Daniel Levitan,one of today's foremost tuning experts
See Booking Form included with this PTA News or contact The Secretary formore details. Spaces are limited.
Saturday 10th November 2012PTA Scottish Autumn Autumn Lunch
The Pirnhall Inn, BannockburnContact: Andrew Jamieson Tel: 01555 893160 Email:[email protected]
2nd - 4th May 2013PTA Centenary Convention
The Days Hotel, BournemouthMore details to follow. Book the dates in your diary now!
For enquiries, PTA goods, changes of address or contact details:Mrs Annette SummersPTA SecretaryPO Box 1312LightwaterWOKING GU18 5UBTel: 0845 602 8796 or 01276 850325E-Mail: [email protected]
IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF PTA NEWS:Tuning in Sierra Leone, Precision Touch Design course, Elgar Discovery,
Trade News
DEADLINE FOR ARTICLES: FRIDAY 14th SeptemberArticles, letters and photos to: [email protected] or to address on page 3.Please email photos separately to articles.
