The Rebirth of the Steinway Square Piano Serial Number 20232 (New York, 1869)

[@manocordio]

Quel travail absolument magnifique! Bravo pour Chris Maene et son équipe, merci de préserver un tel patrimoine!

[@rogercarroll2551]

Who would believe an old square piano could sound as glorious as that one ?

[@MrArchibald7]

I have one square piano, it sounds magical! 🙏

[@nickreid5613]

I have a square grand from 1877, it’s in original condition. I posted it on my channel, take a look! It sounds out of this world

[@robappleby583]

I once had an 1827 Broadwood square, it didn't sound anything like this. This one sounds amazing.

[@GloucesterODaugherty]

This is closer to what the great composers used.

[@jamessturgeon7025]

Great footage and explanation of the internal components of a square grand! Really helps me understand ours and what to look for as it continues to age. Thank you!

[@alastairwilson457]

Beautiful playing on a wonderful instrument

[@shy.kumquat]

Is there somewhere the recording can be heard without the voiceover? The piano has such a unique timbre

[@DeadHorse666]

I have a strait strung upright with 2 strings per note, 77 keys and it was designed to have uniform hammers. It was so hard for me to find this piano because most people in the industry keep throwing them away and telling people who are looking for those kinds of pianos what piano they want when they made it clear they're looking for something else which was my experience in a piano shop and making no attempt to save them. Months after I gave up looking for a piano, the piano I wanted finally showed up delivered for free and the people wouldn't accept my money. Now I'm making plans to restore it and make the bland cabinet that made it more likely to become firewood look like a piece of art. It's a maracle the piano I have today is still around.

[@brettowen7174]

I used to sell restored square pianos from my antiques shop in Petworth, W Sussex. Andy Durand was and still is the expert restorer. Earliest I sold was 1750. I used to play late 18th C pianos in the shop, Mozart sounded as it should on these instruments.

[@christineroberts6759]

What a beautiful sounding instrument. I have an upright from the 30’s that is maintained regularly but I’ll swap for this beautiful instrument.

[@holmespianotuning]

It sounds much more musical than most clinical modern Steinways.

[@edwardsnz]

Wonderful video!

[@virginiavaleri2559]

Bellissima collezione!!! E che bel pianoforte a tavolo!!!

[@magdalenabakharpsichord]

It sounds so beautiful ❤😍🤩

[@runner0075]

It sounds even better than some Steinway grands.

[@galantxxx]

It really does not sound better than a good grand piano. It sounds hollow compared to a modern grand. Maybe that is why these pianos fell out of favor.

[@GrotrianSeiler]

modern piano. But when working, the sound is remarkable.

[@maxkeenlyside]

Every video from the Maene workshop is a visual and auditory feast; thank you! I hope you'll consider demonstrating the tall cabinet pianoforte in the background @ 3:24 - who is the manufacturer?

[@christinakobb5001]

It looks like a Clementi cabinet piano. William Stodart, Tomkinson, Broadwood etc also make similar ones.

[@scottshepard345]

I had an old square piano many years ago, and I put new strings on it. I was expecting great things from the new strings, but, to my great disappointment, the sound was relatively dull and quiet. In looking over the piano, I could see that the sound was eaten up by the large braces, the small soundboard size, the weight of the many strings crowded together, and the use of two strings per note in the treble as opposed to the 3 strings per note that are used today. Also, the square piano took up a huge amount of floor space. In its time the square piano was great, but today's world needs a piano with a louder and more brilliant sound.

[@DeadHorse666]

It would have been a lot louder if the soundboard was repaired while you had the strings off it however the modern piano is not for everyone, doesn't suit every purpose and totally ruins a lot of music, especially when smaller instruments are being played with it. I have a strait strung upright with 2 strings per note and 77 keys and it's a really nice balance between the square and modern piano without giving up sound quality for volume which overstrung pianos do while perfectly suiting the kind of music I write and not causing my hearing damage to turn into going fully deaf which is the biggest issue a modern piano poses since they're overkill for the average living space. Yet it's the only option because of mass manipulation where sellers will tell people what kind of piano they want to gaslight them into thinking they want a piano based on their preference or sell you a piano when they would have otherwise looked somewhere else then throw away every piano that isn't modern. What today's world needs is not one option but the option between a smaller piano and louder one so people have choices and the piano can be brought back to kinds of music it's no longer suitable for because of the lack of options and being too expensive in a world where the average person can only afford a 1 bedroom house or in many cases an apartment if they live in the same place as they did almost a decade ago.

[@bshu1302]

The name of the first piece please ???

[@joshwinfree6057]

Holy crap the cast iron plate is black not gold I always wandered what that would look like

[@runner0075]

Black is the new black

[@DeadHorse666]

Iron is naturally black unless painted.

[@HobbyHillsVideos]

i stumbled across this video because someone is giving away a 1877 square grand by Steinway on Craigslist. Looks great from the photos but they did say it needs tuning and is very heavy.

[@carlrichards49]

I sure hope you took it!

[@gasparocelloman9852]

I love this video. What’s the music?

[@chrismaene2485]

It is a Scarlatti sonata in b minor

[@Drean8.14]

Johannes brahms: op. 118 no. 2

[@laurencetraiger8524]

Who is the pianist? I didn't see her name in the credits.

[@julianvankempen8829]

I was wondering as wel and luckely found it, her name is Fem Devos, on her youtube channel you can find the full version of her playing this piece.

[@laurencetraiger8524]

Thank you very much!

[@danielwaitzman2118]

“determining”

[@jamescutright919]

This seems like a great channel but the sound cuts out. Couldn’t finish-sorry!

[@didiuism]

❤🧡💛💚💙

[@nickreid5613]

I would do anything to have my square piano restored. What are the rates for you ?

[@bellthandian]

There are only two companies in the united states that still works on these. If you google them you'll find both. I got a quote for upwards of $25,000-35,000 to completely restore mine. Sometimes costs can be more. You don't get the money back out of them in terms of overall value but they are quite a nice sounding unique instrument. We had to leave my 1886 Henry Miller square grand behind in a recent move last year do due moving costs and repairs, while it did play it needed a lot of work and my new home can't support the weight/space for a piano.

[@ET1]

Can u restore mine?

[@Johannes_Brahms65]

The lady plays really well. I don't suppose she's incognito?

[@mabdub]

In this video the music is so loud it was difficult to follow what the narrator was saying. The music is wonderful but the volume should be reduced when the narrator is speaking.

[@FrankMarter]

The square grand wasn’t a well engineered instrument. Today they are a pain to tune and the actions require custom made parts for repair. Their tone is hollow so restoring one is a thankless task. They are beautiful pieces of furniture. That’s all.

[@DeadHorse666]

Using this mindset to gaslight people into believing anything that isn't a modern piano is bad based on your personal preference is why we have only one option today and most period instruments didn't survive when so many people prefer them since the modern piano ruins a lot of music and there are a lot of people who don't play piano but would if they had options. Music is an art, not an instruction based on someone else's opinion as this mindset aims to turn it into through mass manipulation. Saying it wasn't well engineered is false, the square piano was made until the early 1900s with a lot of time to evolve while more effort had to go into engineering it because of how the action had to be positioned differently for each note. The square piano existed from at least the 1750s until about 50 years after the modern piano arrived which required less engineering in the action because every part except the hammer only had to be designed once while the action on a square piano had to be in a different position on every key requiring better engineering to get it relatively consistent across all registers which even the modern piano doesn't get perfect due to the varying size of hammers. The reason custom parts had to be made for repair is simply because they predate standardised action parts which is true for modern pianos of the time which date back to the 1850s. You don't have to make custom parts for the modern piano only because it didn't change since the 1880s when 3 keys were added and action parts were standardised however there are still cases even with modern pianos where parts have to be custom made such as the bass strings which is the most expensive part to get custom made and hardest to make at home.

[@FrankMarter]

@@DeadHorse666 I have played a number of square grands. They all sound much the same. The maker doesn’t matter. They are beautiful furniture but as pianos they were the spinets of their day.

[@DeadHorse666]

@@FrankMarter There's no way you're telling the truth if you say they all sound much the same which is how you would describe the modern piano meanwhile the piano industry when square pianos were being produced was extremely diverse with all kinds of options you can't find today. Square pianos were made from the mid 1700s when they were tiny sometimes with bear wooden hammers all the way until the early 1900s after they became fully evolved with an iron frame, overstringing, steel strings, variable size hammer felts and 88 keys. Different pianos of every kind weather they're square, grand or upright sounded so much different that you could write music that specifically suits one that wouldn't sound as intended on another while today, everyone who hasn't hunted down a period instrument or made custom changes to their piano is just writing for the same thing. The first movement of Beethoven's moonlight sonata is an example of this. It was meant to be played with the dampers off through the entire piece which both square and grand pianos of the time could do. Pianos made a couple decades after could no longer do it let alone the piano we have today where it becomes a mess. An earlier square piano could do it just fine but a later one from the 1880s wouldn't be able to do it properly because it has too much sustain which is the biggest issue with the modern piano. They were also made in a time the manufacturer was designing everything from the ground up before standardised action parts making them sound much different across different brands when there were more options like the choice between an overstrung and strait strung model as with all pianos of the time. Music is an art, not an instruction which is how people who act like every piano that isn't modern is bad treat it as irrespective to other people's preferences and situations where a piano like this is perfect while a modern one totally ruins a lot of music and isn't suitable for a lot of situations. A piano that is not right for you is perfect for someone else and vice versa. You not liking it doesn't make it bad. "they were the spinets of their day" Even spinet pianos aren't as bad as you think, you think they're bad because you're expecting the same experience as a full size one however there are many made differently with the action in the back so the keys can be long while many people who have issues with their hands and arms that would otherwise prevent them from playing the piano at all favour them and some people choose a spinet because it's the most accessible way to get one that sounds close enough to a forte piano that different hammers is all that's needed to get it almost spot on. Some people also just don't want an extremely loud piano but the people who will go deaf due to pre existing hearing damage are among those ignorant people like you don't care about when mass manipulating that every piano that isn't what you want is bad. Saying they all sound much the same during a time you could get a small strait strung wooden frame piano with iron strings and 2 strings per note along side the modern steinway concert grand we have today minus 3 keys or an even more powerful double overstrung model is the most ignorant thing ever.

[@FrankMarter]

@@DeadHorse666 you are a loquacious windbag.

[@BalletBabyBoy]

Lovely tone

[@Kref3]

OK, this video really was difficult to watch for me. I really would have liked to be informed about the piano and its restoration. I also would have liked to listen to the sound of the piano. But not both at the same time! There is this really good pianist who plays it for the recording, but at no time you can hear the piano for more than 10 or 15 s before the speaker continues to tell the story, most of the time not synched to the music at all, sometimes just a second or two before the end of a phrase which is really painful. You cannot stop an the second note before the end :( It would have been a much nicer video, had you let the lady play the first two or three phrases of the piece before reducing the piano sound MUCH more, then do all the talking and at the end give her another 20 or 30 seconds to finish her piece. I really heard only very little of what this piano actually can do.

[@frankmarter6845]

Square grands were not satisfactory pianos when new. They had gerrymandered actions that did not work well. They were good only for women who were learning to play. After 150 years they are relics that can only be made useful at great expense. Even then they are not as good as when new and they weren’t very good then.

[@themike97_58]

They obviously went away for a reason, I think the main sentiment here is that of historical conservation.

[@DeadHorse666]

If the square piano was as bad as you don't remember, it wouldn't have been made until the early 1900s when the upright complete with the modern action they have today existed since the 1830s yet were still available along side the modern grand piano we know today because not everyone wants the same thing, especially when the modern piano ruins a lot of music. A bad piano also wouldn't have been good for people learning to play ether as that prevents them from learning such as when someone learns on a piano that they can't play soft on so they can only play loud when they play on a good piano. If the square piano was really that bad, people wouldn't have been paying the price of a house for one when they could have gotten an upright that takes up less space with a bigger sound if that was the kind of sound they wanted.