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Home
PageWhat
is Piano RestorationWhy
Choose Us?About
PianosThe
Restoration ProcessLinksContact
Us
After my grandparents were married, their home in Warsaw became the setting for chamber music concerts; the last of these, in 1932, featured Kazimierz Krance, suitor of Felicia, my mother. Felicia and Kazimierz were wed, and in 1937, the Blüthner was shipped to Paris, where my father was preparing for a concert tour through Europe and South America. The piano remained in Paris during World War II, after which it was shipped to New York City, where my parents settled in the 1940s.
Eventually my niece Anya received the original Blüthner for her 13th birthday; by then, age had taken its toll, and some years later the piano suffered further damage after it was dropped during a move and then stored in a clammy basement. In this sad state it arrived at Music of the Spheres (2023 W. Carroll Street; 312-666-7440), along with a hand-written note from my mother detailing its history. "We knew what extraordinary value the piano had as an instrument," says Paul Revenko-Jones. "But when Anya gave us the written history, it turned into an honor to work on that piano, to give it a new life."
Revenko-Jones began rebuilding pianos in Washington, D.C., before moving to Chicago in 1975. "We believe in staying small," he says, "in doing as few pianos a year as we can, and doing each of them as well as we can." That adds up to four to six pianos restored annually -- plus several hundred tuning jobs throughout the city and suburbs. "We tend to work more on vintage instruments, pianos from the 1890s through the 1930s. As pianos age, the wood in them simply deteriorates. In order to restore an instrument properly -- and for me to feel comfortable warrantying the piano for its new lifetime -- a new soundboard is usually called for. But it's expensive. It's a significant portion of the cost of doing the restoration."
Typically a piano restoration, which can cost as much as or more than $25,000, takes 250 to 400 hours; my family's Blüthner took nine months. The chief problem was the soundboard, which originally had been mortised into place. "Generally a soundboard is glued into place on a lapped rim," says Revenko-Jones. "A mortise is a groove that is cut into the case for the soundboard to slide into. We were able to have the soundboard made such that, feathering the edges, we were able to glide it into position." Revenko-Jones also replaced much of the piano's original wood veneer, which was either missing, broken, or cracked with age. "Nevertheless," he says, "I think the wood that is still there holds a memory created by the artists that have played it. I feel that; I really do." -- as does my niece Anya, each time she sits down at the family Blüthner.
IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT RESTORING YOUR family's piano, Paul Revenko-Jones encourages striking a balance between its intrinsic and its extrinsic value. High-end pianos, such as Steinways or Mason & Hamlins, are always worth restoring, he says. "They're investment-quality instruments and bear the value of restoration. Lesser-vintage instruments are not always worth restoring, but when restored, they tend to be of greater durability than new pianos of equal value because they were made with more care." Revenko-Jones also understands a piano's sentimental value. "That's incredibly powerful, and we have tremendous respect for that," he says. "But we make sure the client knows that what they invest is not recoverable in the market in those cases."
To keep your piano healthy, Revenko-Jones advises monitoring temperature and humidity closely. "Moisture content is the real critical factor," he says. "Severe variations in humidity, such as we have here in Chicago, need to be controlled in order for the wood in the piano to remain stable." Pianos should be tuned and maintained at least twice a year. Revenko-Jones suggests contacting the Piano Technicians Guild in Kansas City, Missouri (816-753-7747) or PTG.org, to get the names of qualified technicians in your area.
M. K.
