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Of course, there are other manufacturers out there still, including American ones, whose own top of the line concert grands are also exquisite instruments. But, as Ed explained, for those who've sat down to a Kawai, "After twenty minutes or so, they realize that it just gives back exactly what they ask of it." That impression was further confirmed when Ed & Emily had a visitor one day -- a world-class pianist who had been in the area for a concert -- and who happened to stop by and try one. He was so impressed that he was ready to order one from them, though they urged him instead to do so when he returned home, where he would then have a local technician available. Both Ed and Emily are members of the Piano Technicians Guild [PTG]. This put them in touch with other builders and technicians from all over the world. But it also put them in touch with one another. "PTG is great," said Ed, a glint in his eye as he glances over at Emily. "That's how Emily and I met." He then described that first encounter, with an obvious dose of both love and gratitude.
"They have tours each year, in different parts of the world." Then, with help from Emily, he went through the litany of places they'd been -- England, Scotland, Wales {That was easy.} ... Switzerland, Denmark, Germany {"Both East and West," Ed recalls. "Then Germany itself when it was reunited."} ... Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Austria, Greece {One could see him scanning the world map in his mind. Next, we'd tour the Far East.} ... Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea. Ed explained that, while such trips could have been expensive, as the Chair of the International Relations Committee for PTG, it costs them very little, since most of it was paid for by the Guild. Both Ed and Emily agreed that one of the benefits of the of the PTG tours was the opportunity to make "friends from other countries." Ed explained how some of them would come to visit with Emily and him when they were in the States, and vice versa. But there were the other benefits, too. Evidently, each tour includes visits to factories, museums, concerts, and even the homes of some rebuilders. In the process, the tour provides an invaluable and continuing education on the technical art of the piano -- from design and rebuilding techniques, to history, and much more. "It's also an opportunity to get some first-hand knowledge of foreign brands," Ed added. The task of rebuilding, particularly on older instruments, can present its own challenges. They explained that at least part of the process involves "maintaining the integrity" of the original. In that light, for example, they try their best to procure wood from around the same period.
I asked Emily is she performed at all. "No," she said. But she does manage to play for pleasure. "If I can find the time." I asked if she would be willing to play something now. Somewhat shy and reluctant, she nonetheless agreed. We went into the adjoining room, where she sat down to one of the new Shigeru Kawai concert grands. The room is the display area in their home, though there's another showroom in the converted barn behind the house, which also contains the workshop where they do the rebuilding. When she sat down and began to play, it was difficult to say which was the more astonishing, Emily's solid technique and sound as she ran her fingers up and down the keyboard with apparent ease and grace ... or the rich, full tones that emanated from the magnificent instrument she was playing. Of course, it was both. When she finished, I asked about favorite composers. ... Emily quickly replied that she had no favorites. "They all have so much to offer." But she also acknowledged that, especially while she is working, she likes "Baroque and Early Classical." "They help me to move along," she explained. Ed, on the other hand, is quick to point out that he is nowhere near as accomplished on the keyboard as Emily. But among his favorites, he included Schumann and Chopin.
I asked whether, as with the violin or the cello, pianos improve with age. Ed explained that, unlike those instruments, where the wood is designed to expand and contract, and where not playing them for a while could mean up to two weeks of fairly consistent playing to bring them back to the kind of responsiveness that they're capable of, there were several factors involved in the piano which made them very different in this regard. Foremost among them is the tremendous pressures involved. "The pressures that are in a piano are unbelievable," Ed said. "You take the total tension on all the strings and it adds up to about 38-40,000 pounds of tension. And most of that tension, while it's required for what the piano does -- as far as the voice that the instrument ends up with, the tonal properties, the carrying capacity, and the volume you need -- but most of that tension from a structural point of view is doing its best to destroy the instrument." Ed then explained the intricacies in that context which translated into the fact that a quality piano "might last a hundred years or more," but that most would probably need a complete rebuild in about 60 years or so. Emily added that concert grands that were used for performances were being rebuilt "every five years or so."
In a similar vein, I asked whether there was a particularly preferred wood for the piano's soundboard. There is -- spruce. Among quality manufacturers, however, not any spruce would do. The preferred stock would come from a stand at least 125 years old, and preferably from the North side of a slope where, with less direct sun pushing the growth rate, the tress matured more slowly. They also looked for annual growth ring density of 14-18 per inch. Obviously, with such high standards, the stock of spruce that can meet such requirements has been reduced dramatically. Ed explained that, years ago, Steinway actually used to harvest such spruce from this area, as well as other parts of Northern New England. But nowadays, "Some of the very finest soundboards are coming out of very little parts of the world." Among them are Shigeru. "Their spruce is coming from a very small part of Japan that's very isolated." And then there's Fazioli, an Italian company which draws its spruce "from the same woods where Stradivarius got the wood for his instruments." Ed explained that, typically, these were very small lots of "maybe several hundred acres," a lot that would quickly be depleted if used for more mass production units. What's most enjoyable about working on pianos? "The people." On that score, both Ed and Emily agreed. They explained "I think that piano somehow evokes a different emotional response in people," Ed explained. "Boy, when you talk about a piano, all of a sudden ... I can still see Grandma sitting in front of the piano. ... I can still hear the family gathered around at Christmas-time singing carols. ... The personal connection that goes with a piano. It has a voice. It has a personality." Ed explained that that is one of the reason why you often hear of people wanting to be sure that the old piano they're finally letting go off "goes to a good home." That's also one of the reasons why a number of people, according to Ed, want to rebuild pianos that may not really be worth re-building.
And it's that human connection that also accounts for the less-than-usual encounters Ed & Emily, as well as other piano technicians, have with their customers. "What's interesting about the business here," Emily said. "Or even in Vermont, is the you can have the big stores. There are two or three big stores. But the rest of them are like us, piano technicians running small operations. And you can't do that in a big city." Emily also described the benefits. "Because we're technicians, we can also offer the service, which makes it very attractive. And I think there are a lot of people who want to buy locally who look for smaller stores." That question of size also has other side-effects. "Often," Ed said. "We'll go on a job and people will want to talk with us, sometimes for hours." {Not the usual goings-on for service repair calls in general.} "People really end up becoming friends. You learn about them, about their families. Sometimes you even have dinner with them." That, both Ed and Emily agree, is just one of the many reasons they "enjoy doing what we do over other things we might do." Hilbert's Pianos . ******* ******* 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. ******* ******* |
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