This week we were delighted to send our plucky little Wendl & Lung model 161 grand piano to Sarm Studio 2 on a trial basis. This replaces the Steinway that moved over the road to the Sarm Music Village. I can’t remember which megastars recorded in that studio (although we definitely tuned for Jamie Cullum […]
I just tuned at Kensington Palace – here is the view from the rear! Its bizarrely quiet and peaceful for central London…
I’ve just spent a Sunday morning taking apart an 1890 Erard concert grand action. Sebastian Erard made fantastic, idiosyncratic, complex and meticulously crafted pianos. Look at how complicated the lever flange is in the photo. Note too the solid brass on the hammer flanges. In fact, there’s more brass in this piano than in a […]
I’m gutted to see that Clandon Park House has burnt down! I spent a memorable day there in November with the Heilmann fortepiano for Ian Peter Bujega’s spiritedly youthful Les Bougies Baroques.
Just tuned for Jack Penate at a temporary studio he has set up in South Bermondsey to record an album. A lovely chap, hopefully I can sort him out with a better piano!
I was at Sleeper Sounds Studio in west London the other day replacing some defective bass strings on a Baldwin upright piano. The studio is the home of Guy Chambers, who has made his name writing and producing for Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross, Beverley Knight, Andrea Bocelli, James Blunt, Tina Turner, Jamie Cullum, Katie […]
This is what I get up to at the crack of dawn, tuning in Westfield Shopping Centre. Westfield London and Westfield Stratford both have Yamaha S6 grand pianos, which are regularly used for concerts and performances.
Kristian Bezuidenhout played Mozart on our Paul McNulty 1805 Walter fortepiano copy for today’s lunchtime concert. You can hear it here . The varied colours, attack and intensity of the performance owe a great deal to both the pianist, the fantastically gifted and musically sensitive Kris, and to the fabulous instrument maker Paul, turning out wonderful […]
We had the usual glut of pre and post Easter recording studio sessions to tune for, including a couple that were new to me. Kore Studios in Acton, which has a 32 Channel API 1608 desk (pictured) installed in the autumn, have recorded Florence and the Machine, Plan B, Ronnie Wood and numerous other artists. […]
Yesterday we had the pleasure of a visit from Rimantas Vingras, the London-based Lithuanian concert pianist who studied at the Moscow Conservatoire. He was there to test out a couple of Feurich model 122 uprights for a pupil of his. I am always amazed when world-class pianists come to the workshop and effortlessly play through such […]
