Author Archives: Eric

About Eric

uber high end piano geek

Book Reviews

There are 2 books I’ve been reading lately, one new and one not so new. The Voice of the Piano by Andre Oorebeek is a welcome addition to the sparse list of books on piano technology. This book is a … Continue reading

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What is good for the goose is…

My recent travels have taken me to a well known retailer in the East and a well known university in, well, the US.  Both are staffed by  serious piano people and to me, both represent a problem this industry is … Continue reading

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Summer Travel

I’m a pretty good long distance driver and took some long drives in June and July. First I drove to Toronto and back for a weekend Canadian Piano Technicians meeting. About a week later I drove to visit Andre Bolduc … Continue reading

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PTG 2009

PTG of course is the Piano Technicians Guild and this years convention was held in Grand Rapids Michigan. Grand Rapids is a pain to get to but is a lovely little city with a fantastic convention facility. For the past … Continue reading

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What I Like About Piano Competitions

The Van Cliburn Competition just ended with barely a ripple on the surface of public awareness. To a certain extent this is to be expected since the world of serious piano playing is relatively small and arcane. However in my … Continue reading

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Tuning part 2

A single piano key sets into motion a set of 3 strings, all set in motion by the same hammer and all tuned, ideally, to the exact same pitch. This collection of 3 strings is called a unison. One usually … Continue reading

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Fixing my piano – now the work begins

My Yamaha CFIIIS came back from PianoWorks in Atlanta and was installed in Charleston. It was very nicely strung with new pinblock and treble bridge cap. Flawless delivery to Charleston sounding very good on arrival. Good is relative, of course. … Continue reading

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Gabriela Montero in Vienna

The word from Vienna is that my pal Gabriela Montero (yes, she played at the inauguration) just had a big success in Vienna, playing Brahms 1 on a Bosendorfer 290 with the Vienna Philharmonic. Gabby is the real deal and … Continue reading

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Haitink comments on Shostakovich 4th Sympnony

The Shostakovich 4th is one of my most favorite pieces perhaps due to the way I first heard it; performed by the Boston Symphony, me  a naive college student walking in completely unprepared. I walked out a different person. This … Continue reading

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Newport Music Festival – Greatest Music Festival in the world

I’m a huge fan of the festival, having first gone in 1980. It’s the classical music festival, held inside the mansions in Newport RI. It is a treasure of the music world due to it’s wonderful, unique programming and the … Continue reading

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