June 18, 2016

The Making of a Steinway Grand Piano


                                                                      



It's easy to see why these pianos are expensive!

A Steinway grand piano consists of a staggering 12,116 parts. The fascinating process by which these pieces come together is the focus of Making Steinwaya new photography book from Christopher Payne.

As a former architect, Payne has a natural interest in component parts and form. He has explored the abandoned ruins on New York’s North Brother Island, and the world of American textile manufacturing. In Making Steinway, Payne turns his lens onto the New York Steinway & Sons piano factory, where 300 people work to create these extraordinary instruments.

                                                       
   
Payne first visited the factory in 2002. It made a big impression—over the next nine years he thought about going back to photograph it. 

The shooting process, which took another five years, was significant not just for its scale, but for personal reasons as well. “After my father and grandmother passed away—both were pianists—my memories of the factory took on a more profound, spiritual importance,” says Payne. “I felt an obligation to return to take pictures of the instrument so deeply connected to my family.”

Payne’s intended approach was to work roughly in chronological order, documenting the piano assembly from start to finish. “I began with the shot that I had been thinking about for nine years, the view of the piano rims in the rim conditioning room,” he says. “The rims are lined up and you can walk through them like a tunnel. It’s incredible.” However, “often I would get distracted by something else in a different area. No matter how many times I visited the factory, I always saw something new and interesting.”

                                                                     



Making Steinway is not just about the multitude of unseen parts and minute details that together produce what Payne calls “one of the supreme acts of human invention and imagination”.

 It’s also about the talented craftspeople who have the ability to create these instruments. “The people who work at Steinway come from all over the world, and the factory is a microcosm of the diversity that makes New York City great,” he says. “Some workers are new to the factory, having recently immigrated to the US, while others have been there for decades. There’s not a lot of turnover, and everyone takes tremendous pride in their work.”
[....]

                                                                             
                                     
By Anika Burgess

With many thanks to Atlas Obscura
                                                                         


Related:
The Mayuri: A Very Decorative Musical Instrument

The Fender Stratocaster: A Design Icon At 60 

 Crystal-Covered Grand Piano On the Market for $620,000

The Weirdest Musical Instruments       

18th Century Mandolins Were a Symphony of Rare Ingredients 


The Banjo: A History by Laurent Dubois

 Wintergatan - Marble Machine