Here is an example of the installation of a modern piano in a historical body. The customer's wish was to build a contemporary piano into this beautiful Broadwood & Sons piano body. Apart from visual preferences, the main concern was to preserve the very delicate dimensions of the piano - because with a width of only 1.25m, this piano fitted exactly into the only available space.

The basis was the original John Broadwood & Sons piano from 1874, which had been preserved - although from a collector's point of view not necessary - and after a long search and various attempts we found a modern Bentley upright piano, which had exactly the necessary dimensions for installation - and at the same time sounded and technically corresponded to our expectations among the available upright pianos. The conversion work was complex and was carried out by a workshop specialising in piano conversions. The challenge lay in the very different detailed dimensions of the action and keyboard - due to the ~120-year age difference between these two pianos. The key length alone was 14cm different and the height of the console was almost 10cm. In the end, however, it became clear that the extensive work was worthwhile. The piano with its rare original chandeliers and the typical appearance of the time around 1874 fitted perfectly into the niche provided for it - and now sounds beautiful again with contemporary 440Hz chamber tuning. This special instrument now stands in a house on a beautiful lake deep in the Swiss mountains. A piano bench was selected to match the piano and also restored - including the upholstery and the cover according to old upholstery techniques.