88 Keys - The Making of a Steinway Piano [Hardcover]

Miles Chapin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

More than 500 people are involved in the creation of just one of the world's greatest pianos, the Steinway. From the selection and aging of wood to the delicate voicing of the finished instrument, this special reissue of 88 Keys - The Making of a Steinway Piano relates the story behind the instrument's intricate formation, as told by Miles Chapin, a fifth-generation descendant of Steinway's founder, Henry Engelhard Steinway. Readers will learn about how the piano gets its trademark curve, the "belly men" who fit the metal harp to the wooden frame, the carvers who shape the piano's legs and pedal lyre, and the many other craftspeople who have perfected their specialized contributions to the finished product. They'll also get an insider's look into the company's history against a timeline of major worldwide music events, and into the roles of piano greats, including Anton Rubinstein and Sergei Rachmaninoff, in contributing to its prominence. A glossary of technical terms is included. For music lovers, aspiring musicians, and pianists everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The piano may well be the world's most versatile instrument, and the Steinway is the United States's most celebrated manufacturer. This handsome volume takes you inside the process of building a Steinway, from the selection of the woods (yellow birch, sugar maple, sugar pine, yellow poplar, Sitka spruce, and, for the exteriors, various hardwoods) through the construction of the soundboard and keyboard, from the manufacture of the piano's rim and case through the building of the metal harp that holds the strings, and to the final assembly and finishing. Along the way are sections on history and physics (good tone doesn't just happen) and a useful glossary. 88 Keys is a fascinating and eminently readable book for anyone with an interest in the art of the piano. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Arts journalist and actor Chapin is unusually well qualified to write a book on the Steinway: His great-great-grandfather founded the company that produces it. But unfortunately, Chapin's efforts fall somewhat flat. The making of a grand piano is a complicated process. When that piano is going to bear the name Steinway, the process is even more laborious--the Steinway is one of the few pianos in the world that are still completely handmade. It takes over 500 people and several years to make one, and in the 150-odd years since the company's founding, the process has changed very little, as Chapin emphasizes repeatedly. Henry Englehard Steinway began his career in piano-making in southern Germany. Fleeing the political and economic upheavals of the 1840s, he arrived in New York City in 1850. Drawing on his own skills and those of his sons, he made the Steinway the benchmark of fine instruments. (The family finally sold its interest in the firm in 1972.) As Chapin readily admits, at least some of the firm's success was the product of marketing genius, as the company associated itself with the pianistic legends of the time: Anton Rubinstein, Ignace Paderewski, Sergei Rachmaninoff. Chapin takes readers through the long process by which wood and other materials become a vehicle for music. Along the way, he sprinkles interesting bits of piano history: Hungarian piano maker Paul von Janko devised a piano with knobs instead of keys; ivory is the one component that has been replaced by modern plastics; the instrument must withstand 70,000 pounds of tension from its strings. Rodica Prato's elegant drawings evoke a Victorian era in which every living room held a piano. Regrettably, Chapin recounts his tale in rather pedantic prose, all the while puffing for the Steinway company. The result is an occasionally interesting volume that reads too much like an oversize advertising pamphlet. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Amadeus Press (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574671529
• ISBN-13: 978-1574671520
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oversized Pamphlet, inadequate detail and diagrams, February 13, 2001

By 

B "B Stewart" (Dallas, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 88 Keys: The Making of a Steinway Piano (Hardcover)

This is fundamentally an oversized pamphlet. It is double-spaced with wide margins and still only has about 130 pages including many illustrations. Steinway has a CD-rom, which one can obtain quite easily, which covers many Steinway construction topics with better illustrations (including video) than this pamphlet. Anyone with any knowledge at all of piano construction (viewers of the Steinway CD- rom video, and a couple of manufacturers' brochures) will be disappointed in this book.

The book contains no photographs. Hard to believe, eh? The illustrations are excellent, but do not seem to be integrated with the text and very few are diagrammatic showing how things work, just show how they are, if you are lucky.

Many topics are described without detailed reference and explanation with an illustration or diagram.

E.g.. Pg. 15 clavichord mechanism is described verbally, without diagrams.

Pg 64: English style ... "the hammer heads are placed at the far end of the mechanisms and move forward when the keys are struck." I am clueless as to what this would look like. " a glimpse at any contemporary grand piano keyboard will..." How about a picture?

Pg 48-49 Re: matched veneers: " a careful look at the case of any natural wood-finished Steinway will show you how good they are." No photographs or illustrations.

Pg 52 re Scales. "these characteristic dimensions differentiate pianos from different makers more than any other technical element." Perhaps I do not understand the statement, but a Steinway salesperson will point out three distinct differentiations between Steinway and its competitors, which are technically related in my mind.

I was abhorred to look down at the page number, 62, half way through the book, and realized I had only learned a few things of interest and had not learned anything of several topics which I had assumed would be covered. While I did not keep track of the time, I felt I had only been reading a short while.

On several occasions the author begins on what appears an interesting topic, but he either aborts early or has no illustrative diagrams and I cannot follow, despite very good grades in science classes from a prestigious private etc.

Pg. 56. He starts talking about harmonics, but has no diagrams, and again, if one does not know harmonics will probably just be confused.

He talks about sound board gluing, but again no illustrative diagrams or dimensions on final cut. How thick is a soundboard?

Bridge: verbally describes making one, but no diagrams or detailed illustrations.

I will stop with the last. One thing I would certainly expect from a book on making a piano is a detailed explanation with diagrams of how the action works. Pg. 71 (this paragraph is unbelievable): "A model of a piano's action is a fascinating thing to behold. I used to play with one for hours on end ..." "The answer is that the pianos action has evolved over years of experimentation." That's it! No explanation of how the mechanism of the action actually works. One very nice still illustration, but no explanation or additional diagrams.

If this book does not sell on Amazon, it will not sell anywhere, because I would never have bought this oversized pamphlet at a bookstore.

Sorry.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining book for all readers, March 19, 1998

By 

Jim Conner ([e-mail]) (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 88 Keys: The Making of a Steinway Piano (Hardcover)

Miles Chapin's and Rodica Prato's "88 Keys - The Making of a Steinway Piano" is a delightful book which will appeal to general readers with an interest in music, the piano, or the history of Steinway & Sons. Although it is not an exhaustive or scholarly discussion, this brief, clearly written, and well-focused book will please readers with its warm, intimate, and thoroughly sympathetic account of the Steinways and their pianos. The tale is greatly enhanced by the fact that Chapin, a descendant of Steinway's founder, enriches the book with family anecdotes. One is amused, for example, by his confession that as a child he threw pencils into the family Steinway so he could watch his uncle take the piano apart. One shares with him a child's joy in contemplating a machine that is at once both bewilderingly complex and yet a thoroughly reliable source of beautiful music. Like Chapin's other family stories, this one gives the reader the satisfying feeling that the Steinways truly loved their pianos and the music they made.

A special surprise in this book is its clear, accurate, and easily understood discussion of the science of the piano, which the Steinways advanced through many important contributions. All too often, this topic is handled so badly that facts are obscured and readers are intimidated. Technophobes who are ill at ease with physics and mathematics can finally relax! Chapin's explanation is factual yet thoroughly accessible, and one feels completely safe in his hands. His explanations entertain even as they inform, and they are bound to enrich the reader's appreciation of the piano's music. Moreover, his explanation of the Steinway manufacturing process is so clear and understandable that one wishes Chapin's style could become a model for other writers on technical subjects.

Regarding Prato's colorful illustrations, I must confess that I was frankly hostile at first. I thought they gave the book the appearance of a children's story rather than a serious work for intelligent adults. Photos, I thought, would have been much better: clearer, more detailed, and more accurate. But I was wrong on every count. I came to see that Prato's illustrations are a superb complement to Chapin's text, bringing warmth and passion to a topic that might otherwise seem dry. They personalize this book, constraining it to a human scale, and making it accessible to readers of all ages. Even the youngest reader will enjoy them. Moreover...and much to my surprise...they are stunningly accurate, and due to Prato's effective use of color to create contrast between various components, they seem even more detailed than photos.

I strongly recommend this book to general readers of all ages. It would make an excellent gift that is certain to inspire a player of any ability. Young children will need some adult help with technical sections, but I cannot think of a better way to encourage them to set high goals. After all, success at the piano almost always leads to a closer and more personal relationship with Steinway, as so many renowned artists can attest. This book lets that relationship begin today at a very small fraction of the cost of a Steinway D.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous book about building a piano, June 22, 2001

By 

Carol C. "ccjello" (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 88 Keys: The Making of a Steinway Piano (Hardcover)

This book gives you a blow-by-blow account of how a piano is made at the Steinway factory in New York City. The book is readable and gives you an appreciation of the detail and precision, all of the handiwork that go into a well-crafted piano. It also shows that a piano is not just a standard item -- pianos are crafted for individuals (Horowitz likes a light, responsive touch, Rubenstein wanted a more resistant touch, some performers want different tones depending on what they are playing). The only drawback (unless you're a Steinway groupie) -- it's rather self-promotional, a well-written, well-illustrated 143-page Steinway & Sons advertisement, but fascinating nonetheless.