Note by Note

Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 ★★★★
I’ve always wondered how a piano was built. I didn’t realize that Steinway concert grand pianos were entirely built by hand, and are probably one of the only concert pianos still made by hand. This movie walks one through the year-long endeavor to build a piano. One starts in the lumber mill, where wood is specifically selected for the piano case and sounding board. Slow and meticulous processes eventually lead to the developed project. Many scenes are also shot of professional musicians in the NY Steinway piano store trying out pianos. I guess that even with Steinway pianos, the action can vary enough that a concert musician may need to try 10-15 pianos before finding the instrument of his liking. There are a lot of extras with this movie, but the feature attraction was itself a fascinating journal behind the walls of the Steinway piano factory in New York, with interviews of many of the piano building craftsmen. Steinways have many hand-carved features, constructed to precise millimeter tolerances. The tuning is all by hand, and not electronic like most other piano builders. The keys and their actions are all meticulously adjusted by hand to properly strike the strings with appropriate action on the key. One was left realizing that there may be a day where much of the art and skills of hand piano construction may be lost, and then we will be stuck with cheap Japanese imitations. Oh well!!!!