|
Back Issues |
|
Music
& Sound .
"My father thought I should have something to fall back on." ... That's how Ed Hilbert, of Hilbert Pianos in Bristol, explained things when I asked him how he got into the business. So, still in high school in Philadelphia, lo, those many years ago, Ed apprenticed himself to an elderly gentleman, one Mr. Goldman, who had been tuning and rebuilding pianos for years and was now on the verge of retirement. Ed still has his first project from 1965, the year he began working with Mr. Goldman -- an old Mason-Hamlin Cabinet Organ -- sitting in their parlor. The other half of Hilbert pianos is Emily, an accomplished pianist and teacher who still has several students, most of whom she's been teaching since they were in the early grades, though she's not taking any new students these days. ... How did she come to work on the insides of pianos?
Eventually, though, both she and Ed managed to find training which, when they began, they never dreamed existed. Among their credentials, both attended the famous "Little Red Schoolhouse" -- the unlikely-sounding name for what Ed described as a "pretty elite school" run by Yamaha. "Emily had gone to it previously when she lived in California, and after we were married, she said I should go." Ed took Emily's advice and, apparently, he was glad he did. ...
"It's a phenomenal week," Ed said. "You're in a school situation where there are generally three instructors and six students." Evidently, the program is highly focused. After forty-five minutes of instruction on any given day, you next go to a private room where there are "two pianos that are yours for the whole week," noted Ed. One is an upright, the other, a grand. The task each day is to apply the morning's instruction in hands-on work, after which your work is closely inspected by one of the school's instructors. "They critique what you've done and help you to improve," Ed explained, adding that "they're not taking people at the beginning of their careers; they're taking people who are already considered to be pretty good." I asked Ed & Emily
about what they considered some of their more interesting experiences repairing
or rebuilding instruments. Both agreed that there were probably too many
to choose from. ...
"I don't know," said Emily. "They're all really different." Then she added, "They all have their moments ... They're different, with a lot of variety." Ed noted that they'd recently rebuilt a harmonium for Heidi Chapman, a local performer who would be using it in the up-coming production of Night Fires, the annual solstice show directed by Marianne Lust that tours the DownStreet neighborhood. There's also the occasional antique instrument, or a melodeon or pump organ, which Ed noted were "not particularly complicated," but which could have their own surprises. ******* ******* One such surprise came when Ed worked on an old melodeon. ... The day he began work on it was "exactly 125 years to the day that it had been built in the factory." But it was what he found when he opened it that was especially surprising. He'd found some old newspaper around the bellows which he carefully peeled. It was old, indeed. As he looked over the headlines, Ed noticed that they were "reports from battlefields of the Civil War." With obvious delight, he added. "Knowing that I was the first person in 125 years to open up that instrument, and to be looking at something like that ..." His voice trailed off. I next asked how far and wide their business ranges, to which Ed replied quickly, though with an obvious sense of humor about it, "Much further than we should." ...
Both he and Emily then began to draw the map. "If we sell a piano, we tend to service it, " Ed explained. In that context, they currently have customers as far East as Tunbridge, as far West as Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, as far North as Jericho and Milton, and as far South as Rutland. But, Ed says, "Generally, about 90% of our work is here in Addison County." One of their more interesting experiences came as a direct result of their Little Red Schoolhouse experience. That was how they ended up over in Saranac Lake. ... Because of their Little Red Schoolhouse credentials, "Yamaha knew us and knew of our abilities," Ed said. "So we got a call, it was probably about seven years ago. They were selling a piano to some people over in Saranac Lake, and they wanted us to go over and set it up." ... Saranac Lake seemed to them like "some distance to go," so they "tried to beg off." "You don't want to be unkind to people who've treated you so well," Ed said, recalling the wonderful time he'd had at the Schoolhouse, and the especially wonderful party Yamaha had given for his class, as they do for all classes, upon their completion of the course. {"The Japanese really know how to throw a party," he'd said.} Despite that, however, Ed tried to explain to his caller from Yamaha that Saranac Lake was a three-hour drive. In that ight, they would be paying for six hours of their time just to get their and back. But the caller countered by saying that this was "a special account" and the cost was not an issue.
So off he went. ... When he arrived, he found a "beautiful new Disklavier paino" in an what was probably an even more impressive home. "We're talking about the boathouse being the size of our house," Ed recalled. {Ed & Emily's house is by no means small.} While Ed worked away at setting up the piano, the owner, "a very nice gentleman," had been talking on the phone in the other room. And while he wasn't trying to eavesdrop, still, it was hard not to overhear the conversation. "They were talking huge sums of money," Ed recalled. "And as I looked around, I said to myself , 'Yeah, I can see it.'" Afterward, Ed and the gentleman started to chat and Ed's curiosity was too peaked not to inquire. So he explained to the gent about the call he had gotten, and how Yamaha had explained to him that his was a special account. "It's a really beautiful piano," Ed acknowledged. But then he asked the fellow why his account was so important to Yamaha. The gentleman explained it quite simply and without pretension. "It's probably because I'm the Chairman of the Board at Carnegie Hall." ... Ed and Emily have been caring for the piano ever since.
They actually have another account over that way, at The Point, which had been the summer residence for William Rockefeller. This time the original call was for a rebuild. Evidently a local technician had tried his hand at it, but, as Ed explained, he had not been "as successful as he needed to be." That tech then suggested that the owners contact Ed & Emily. "For a rebuilding," Ed said. "I'll normally travel further than for a set-up." So off he went again. When
he arrived, he found a 1905 Geo. Hoffman from Berlin. It was a work of
art. "Absolutely gorgeous cabinet on it," Ed exclaimed. It
was "just a fantastic piano. For instance," he continued.
"It had faces carved that were several inches deep. There was some
real quality workmanship on this instrument." ******* ******* That reminded me of an old Guilbransen upright from some years ago, with a cabinet which, while nowhere near so intricate, was nonetheless beautiful. I described the scrollwork, and the polished linen inlaid behind it, and wondered about the Guilbransen name.
Ed explained about the Guilbransen, and, without my having said anything about this particular aspect, he was even able to identify the period within several years just from the description. He then went on to talk about the long history of the piano industry here in the States, including the more recent influx of Japanese and other quality instruments. At first, he noted, the Japanese imports were not so much impressive as they were inexpensive, which put pressure on many U.S. mid-grade manufacturers. Early on in the last century, evidently, there had been "about 2500 names used in this country alone." Ed explained that that didn't mean the same number of houses manufacturing pianos. But there were "several hundred" companies manufacturing, including "three or four different names being produced in Burlington," including McKennon brothers. "That was probably the best known," Ed said. Nowadays, however, particularly as the quality of Japanese workmanship has increased exponentially, Ed described a very different picture. "There are only eight manufacturers left," he said. "And two of them -- Yamaha and Kawai -- are Japanese." In fact, when I asked them which, among the many pianos they've encountered they considered among the best, they identified as one Emily's piano over in the adjoining room -- a Kawai RXA. It's all hand-built "by just a few very top artisans." . ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for Sounds Around, or if you simply would like to suggest a performance you'd like us to cover, e-mail us at ... music@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* |
|
*******
******* ******* ******* For more information, contact DownStreet Magazine by ...
Phone
(802) 453-5124 All
material copyrighted © 2000-2001. All rights
reserved. |
