The restoration process of a piano from 1830, all the way to its new and playable condition, ready for new concerts and performances!
While looks is not insignificant, a pleasant, long-lasting resonance is everything! Today, I’ll give you an update of the restoration process of my Dörr piano from 1830. A tricky choice: Durability or good looks? No matter how beautiful its appearance, a piano is useless if you cannot tune it properly. While many elements of an …
#13: Canadian Maple – for pin blocks and all things durable Les mer »
The time has come to inspect the part which is really crucial to the sound and feel of the piano: The action, or mechanic, of the keyboard. How did it look like in 1830? And why are some hammers lazier than others? An onstage almost-catastrophe First, I want to tell you a true story. As …
While a modern grand most often wears a shiny, black coat, my Dörr fortepiano has a flowing mane. Dormant behind the ancient walnut trees, a golden lion stares at me! Do you see it? The veneer of early 19th-century pianos The veneer is one of a piano’s most striking visual elements. An excellent choice of …
How can a nearly 200 years old piano be brought back to its initial appearance? Can one hope to restore even its original sound? The aim of my purchase of this fortepiano by Daniel Dörr from c.1830, is certainly to get as close to its original state, while keeping as much as possible of its …
I just love trees! And I love residents of trees (especially squirrels) and products of trees (especially pianos). Accidentally, this week’s blog post will be about all these things. This week, I finally visited the wood workshop where my new, old piano is currently being restored. You may scroll down to get to the piano …
Do you see the beautiful piano case in the picture above? It is my new piano, built in Vienna around 1830, by a man called Daniel Dörr. Stunning, isn’t it? In this first blog post, I will attempt to explain why I have purchased a piano which does not work and which is almost 200 …