Piano Maker’s Corner: A New Opus
There’s really nothing like a daunting and risky challenge to get the creative juices flowing and last September an unexpected opportunity provided just that. Polo Piatti - Musical Director at the…
Piano Maker’s Corner: Hammers From Recycled Flipflops
Welcome to another update from Kigali Keys, a project to build pianos in Rwanda. We’re still working on forging a decent string frame. We’ve made a couple of attempts which…
Piano Maker’s Corner: Partners in Full Potential
When I started having piano lessons, aged seven, I liked the idea of being a concert pianist. Sitting in front of a big, shiny piano in front of thousands of…
Piano Maker’s Corner: A Slightly Mad Idea
In my last post for Piano Maker's Corner, I spoke about how I learned to tune and fix pianos in Rwanda. What began as a hobby has blossomed into something much larger.…
Piano Maker’s Corner: How I Became A Piano Technician In Rwanda
Repairing pianos wasn’t something I saw coming. I first arrived in Rwanda in 2007. I was a volunteer with VSO, which is the British equivalent of Peace Corps. My role…
Piano Maker’s Corner: Once In A Lifetime
The Steingraeber Factory, complete with a statue of Wagner, who's house is just across the street I don't use the term "once in a lifetime" very much. Because quite honestly,…
Piano Maker’s Corner: Cristofori’s Piano Revolution Lives On
Bartolomeo Cristofori. Is that a significant name to you? As a "Piano Addict", it really should be! It is said that somewhere between the 1700's and 1720's, Cristofori invented a…
Piano Maker’s Corner: Sharing in Family History
Pianos are incredible instruments. Not just in size. Or their elaborate internal mechanisms. Or the beautiful music that they are capable of creating. Pianos are incredible because they are capable…