Posted on 02/12/2020 8:52:35 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
(CNN) An extremely rare, $194,000 grand piano was smashed when movers dropped it while taking it out of a recording studio, Canadian virtuoso Angela Hewitt has revealed.
Hewitt, one of the world's leading classical pianists, said in a Facebook post that she had just finished recording Beethoven's piano variations in Berlin when the movers entered the studio control room to tell her they had dropped her handmade Fazioli piano.
The pianist said it had taken her 10 days to share the "very sad piece of news" because it "has been such a shock to me that I didn't immediately want to share it with the world."
Her precious F278 Fazioli piano was the only one in the world with four pedals, she wrote.
"I adored this piano. It was my best friend, best companion. I loved how it felt when I was recording -- giving me the possibility to do anything I wanted," she said.
"Now it is no longer."
The iron frame was broken, as was much of the structure, lid and case, she said.
Italian engineer and pianist Paolo Fazioli, the owner of Fazioli Pianos, declared the handmade instrument "unsalvageable," Hewitt wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
No, Just:
“The movers of course were mortified. In 35 years of doing their job, this had never happened before. At least nobody was hurt.”
Beat me to it.
“That was a priceless Steinway.”
Clouseau: “Not any more.”
That really is a grand piano.
I would think that something that rare and valuable would be worth repairing ... if the damage isn’t catastrophic.
Oh ... never mind.
This article says German movers did it.
Of course, their names could be Mohammed, Achmed and Fayed.
Okay, let’s be honest - how many of the rest of us automatically thought of the Stooges when we saw that headline?
Pianos seem like the heaviest things in the world. My wife and I have an upright piano. I had to move it when we recarpeted the living room a few years ago. It has rollers, but is difficult to roll on carpet. Also, the front legs of the piano are sort of spindly. So, we had to slightly lift the front so the legs would not take too much weight and break off.
Pianos are so heavy they should never be moved IMO.
As long as there were no Warner Brothers cartoons lurking about on the sidewalk below, it should have been perfectly safe...p> ("Safe. I say, That's a joke, son.")
I cannot bring myself to find any humor in this crash.
Thanks.
I wonder if this was even their forte.
(Ducking)
Another fine mess you got me in to....
Pianissimo......................
Oy! My Steinway is being delivered in about 10 days. Now I’m antsy.
Oooo! Lucky gal! Enjoy!
Not to poke fun at this woman’s loss (I feel badly for her - that piano cannot be replaced), but this reminds me of an episode of the Laurel and Hardy show when Ollie and Stan were moving a piano up a huge flight of stairs to a mansion. Let’s just say that the piano was a bit worse for wear after they got through with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgqXVeIPSzA This is about 5 minutes, and there’s a lot of not-so-subtle un-PC stuff in it (IOW, it is funny). Note that this is colorized, and if you let it play to its conclusion there is the original 27-minute B&W version.
Oy! My Steinway is being delivered in about 10 days. Now Im antsy.
Send the delivery people this article.
And they want $15 an hour.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.