Posts Tagged ‘pianos’

A Look At Pianos In The Chicago Area

Saturday, April 16th, 2016

Crystal Lake, IL. is the home of our good friend Tim Paul at Piano Trends Music and Band.  Just a couple hours drive outside of Chicago is the place to be when it comes to pianos, band and other musical instruments.

tim paul image

Several years when I first became acquainted with Piano Trends I was pleasantly surprised by how well prepared and organized these guys were.  They have been the leaders in Social Media with the ability to reach out to their customer base and keeping people engaged in music.

chicago-crystal-lake-map

Tim’s Blue Baldwin piano has become a mainstay in the areas in and around Crystal Lake.  I always smile to see just how many places this famous piano has gotten.  On stages and venues everywhere in the Chicago and Crystal Lake area, I believe people actually look for it now.  blue piano

Tims work on Facebook has drawn the attention of many customers for Piano Trends.  A few days ago I asked Tim if he would be willing to write an article about the affect Facebook has had on his business.  I appreciate him taking the time to indulge me with an interesting article regarding Social Media, it’s place in the music industry and the effect it has had on his business.

Coming up next…………

And then theres John Broadwood

Monday, September 19th, 2011

John Broadwood and Sons Piano

Manufacturers

John Broadwood was born in 1732.  By the age of 29 he had started working as an apprentice to Burkat Shudi who owned a harpsichord workshop in Londonfor many years.  Mr. Shudi had quite a following with royalty from the Prince of Wales to Fredrick the Great of Prussia. By the time he had been at the workshop with Mr. Shudi about 8 years John Broadwood married Shudi’s daughter Barbara in 1769.  Two years later he started running the entire business and by 1773 had taken full control of the business because Mr. Shudi had passed away.  They had begun to manufacture square grands and grand pianofortes and business was doing so well they had to expand their present locations on Great Pulteney Streetand Bridle Lane, Soho. In 1796 at the age of  64 Broadwood accepted a commissioned work for Manuel de Godoy the Queen of Spain, with a case designed by Thomas Sheraton with Wedgwood medallions. It is now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA.

John Broadwood Piano

John Broadwood Grand Piano

At about the same as the commissioned work was being finished John Broadwood named his son James Shudi a partner and his other son Thomas followed in 1808 and created the firm John Broadwood and Sons.

Thomas Broadwood met Beethoven in August of 1817 in Vienna, and later said, ‘he was kind enough to play to me but he was so deaf and unwell that I am sorry to say I had no opportunity of marking any thing like an anecdote’. Thomas sent Beethoven a gift of a 6 octave grand pianoforte made from Spanish mahogany. Beethoven was so delighted that he wrote to Thomas in 1818 that ‘I shall immediately send you the fruits of the first moments of inspiration I spend at it’. The piano later belonged to Franz Liszt and is now in the National Museum of History in Budapest.  So many technological advancements in piano building were made that it became necessary to expand and Henry Fowler Broadwood, the eldest son of James Shudi Broadwood and the grandson of John, joined the partnership in 1836.  He helped advance the company so much that by the 1840s around 2500 pianos a year were being made at the factory in Horseferry Road, Westminster. Broadwood and Sons had become one of the largest employers in London.

In 1848 Chopin made a Royal visit where he was provided Broadwood pianos. The grand piano no.17047 he used for concerts is presently owned by The Royal Academy of Music and is on loan to the Cobbe Collection Trust in Hatchland Park,  East Clandon, Surrey and some other Broadwood pianos are at various collections throughout Europe.

John Broadwood Grand Piano

John Broadwood Grand Piano

The Horseferry Road factory burned to the ground in 1856. The Broadwoods were so determined to continue that much of the money needed to rebuild the factory came out of Henry Fowler Broadwood’s own pocket.

The company won many awards throughout the 19th century.  Many exhibitions including the Paris Exhibition of 1867 and the International Inventions Exhibition inLondon in 1885.

In 1893 Henry Fowler Broadwood passed away and the company fell into a great  financial crisis which led to the partnership being dissolved in 1901 and a limited company was put in its place.  Some of the family members remained as directors and employees and even Henry Fowler’s grandson, Captain Evelyn Broadwood was chairman from 1931 until his death in 1975.

In 1902 The Horseferry Roadfactory was moved to the Old Ford Works, Stour Road, Hackney. The company then began to manufacture player pianos (Pianolas) and gramophones in the ‘20s.

During the First World War the company voluntarily made aircraft bodies and parts for De Havilland and other things for the cause such as ammunition boxes. In a show of solidarity and appreciation King George V and Queen Mary visited The Old Ford factory in 1926.

 

John Broadwood Upright

John Broadwood Upright Piano

 

 

When Captain Broadwood died in 1975, the Broadwood Trust sent the archives of the business and a large number of papers relating to members of the Broadwood family, and their long and illustrious history to Surrey History Centre inWoking.

The last recorded Broadwood serial number is from 2003.  It is unclear whether they still produce pianos today.

Ric Overton

Ric Overton of  Https://PianoSD.com via https://MaxMorganDesign.com

More about the history of pianos

Sunday, February 20th, 2011

Cristofori had made a HUGE impact on keyboard instruments by inventing and producing the first of what would become known as the piano.  Although the initial pianos  were an incredible feat, there was an incredible difference between what was originally created and what we now know.

The first actions were different in many ways.  First, the sound was not as strong as what we presently enjoy.  There were a number of reasons why.  One of the reasons was that the soundboard of the piano was made differently and the ability of the artist to project at the volumes that are now possible was not possible with the soundboard of that era.

Strings were another issue.  At the time, the string makers had not yet made it possible to produce strings with the diameter that are produced presently.  They did not have the technology to understand that the bass strings could be wrapped with copper and the inside diameter of the strings could be increased in order to make a larger sound.

The biggest differences would come in the action of the piano.  The action of that era was not only uneven but, the hammers were not controllable.  The hammers could not strike the strings with the same velocity and with the same power that we have now.  The action was somewhat more fragile and strike points were somewhat different and all of this added to the resistance that the artist felt when he/she began to play.

It has been said that “they just aren’t made like they used to be” and that is very true.  When I am asked my opinion I often respond with “you are correct.  Its better”.

I hope to be able to explain this in more detail in the next few blogs.

Ric Overton

posted by Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com

Social Media and Blogs

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

As many of you know who follow us on a regular basis, PianoSD closed in July.  My biggest problem is that I REALLY love the piano and music industry.  I have a real passion for teachers and music education and I dearly love the instrument itself.  The history of the piano is rich and it seems that I can’t just walk away and not be involved in the industry.

While I built PianoSD, one of the things that I did there on a regular basis was to post to social media accounts and blog posts almost every day.  So, I began to offer to friends in the music industry to allow me to do their posting and blogs.  The demand is big right now for social media connections and people really want to know what you are doing.  Social media and blogs are the easiest way for people to keep up with you.  The problem for a lot of music and piano dealers as well as teachers and artists is to take or have the time to do this.  Although its not difficult it is a little time consuming.

Max Morgan of www.MaxMorganDesign.com and I will be redesigning the website www.PianoSD.com to reflect our new direction soon.  In the meantime I wanted to let everyone know what is going on.

PianoSD is NO LONGER a showroom for pianos.  We simply are a referral service for people in need.  Last week I referred almost a dozen people customers to various services from tuners, technicians, teachers, violins and pianos.  I have really enjoyed being able to do this because I keep up with what is going on in Southern California with the people in our industry.

I wanted to tell you who we are working with so you can visit thier websites and see what they are doing too.

www.RosemaryBaileyMusic.com

www.SethRye.com

www.SorrentoValleyMusic.com

www.JoanieManero.com

www.PianoSD.com

www.MaxMorganDesign.com

and about 4 more on the way.  We are negotiating now with two international manufacturers, 6 artists and two dealerships.

What all this means is that even though I am not in the business of selling pianos, I am actively involved in the music industry and would be happy to help you if you are looking for a qualified tuner/tech, teacher, artist or if you are looking  for a referral for a piano in San Diego, or a piano in La Jolla, or a piano in Carlsbad, even if you are looking for violins or orchestral stringed instruments, I can direct you and if you want me to go with you I would be glad to.  Just to address money.  I do not have a prearranged agreement with any of the dealers.  I am friends with every one of them but, have no reason to suggest one over the other.  If you want me to visit with you, I would request that you be respectful of my situation and pay me for my time and expertise which we can discuss at the time.

Keep your eyes on us and watch as we begin to change the way we have traditionally done business.  I hope you are happy with what you find.

Ric Overton

post by Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com

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