Many an instrument survives the decades in astonishingly good condition and with beautiful sound. Nevertheless, even a well-maintained instrument will at some point need careful work to shine and sound in all its splendor again.
In our blog post Tuned, overhauled, renovated or restored? we describe different conditions and needs. In principle, any instrument – no matter what condition it is in – can be restored. Whether it is economically worthwhile remains a subjective decision.
Experts work for and with us!
We work with a small number of selected experts in Germany who are masters of their craft and specialize in working on instruments from the Golden Age. We also have surface work carried out in Europe’s piano-making center in Kalisz (Poland). As everywhere – many have mastered the craft, but only a few the art. Although our focus is on renovating instruments from our own stock, we also offer these services for your instruments.
So if you have an instrument from before 1940 and want first-class work done on it, please click here to go to our FASZINATIONPIANOLA instrument form. Once we have received the information about your instrument, we will get back to you immediately and discuss the various options.
Would you like to see examples?
The Gustav Mahler Museum in Hamburg (KomponistenQuartier) made a lovely film in May 2020 – in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. It shows two of our renovated instruments as well as the delivery and an interview: a Feurich Welte-Mignon cabinet, which was on loan to the museum until the Steinway-Welte piano was completed – and was one of its highlights.
We will be happy to provide references for our work on similar instruments. These are mainly renovations of concert and jubilee grand pianos, pianolas and reproducing instruments – as well as other artistic pianos by leading manufacturers. In addition to many private music lovers, our customers include many professional instrument owners such as pianists, museums and universities.
Restoring former splendor.
One of our particular specialties is returning instruments to their original state based on original drawings or documents. Many a magnificent instrument was at some point adapted to contemporary taste or “modernized”, receiving straight legs, a plain lyre and flat music desks in the process. We work with carvers and woodturners who restore your instrument to its original beauty – so skillfully that even connoisseurs can hardly tell. Here, too, we will be happy to show you numerous examples.
Transparency, fixed prices and always available.
Because careful work takes time, we plan the best timing and schedule for the renovation with you. Once the renovation work is complete, our instruments are played in extensively and adjusted again and again to achieve optimal results. For surface renovations we prefer French polishing with shellac; this, too, takes some time to produce a beautiful and durable finish.
We work reliably, transparently and bindingly toward agreed target dates. By arrangement, you are always welcome to drop by the workshop while the work is in progress and see how your instrument is being restored. In the meantime, we can provide you with high-quality replacement instruments so that you can continue to make music – or, in the case of a museum, continue to present an instrument.