Surplus to requirements: One piano

[ailbhe]

We bought a second-hand piano about six years ago, because it was extremely cheap and we had the money. We got a piano tuner to look at it a while ago, and after we'd booked him in at full tuning-the-piano cost he said, in essence, "It's not possible to repair that kind of piano, there's no-one in Europe doing it any more, and incidentally I have a piano here you might like to buy," so we ignored him. And this morning I got the piano repair guy around the corner ot come and look at it, and he said "No charge to come and look," first off, and then when he looked he said "If it's of great sentimental value it can be repaired, but the first stage would be £2000 and it would need more work after that too, but isn't it lovely?"

So we need to get rid of it. I'm quite sad, because the wood is nice, and some of the woodwork is lovely, and if I had an infinite amount of space I'd keep it just because the case is nice, but there you go.

I'm thinking of offering it up on Freecycle in case anyone wants the case as a stage-prop or the wood for almost anything, because the only thing the piano guy could suggest was getting the council to take it to landfill. The marquetry panel in the front would make a very pretty table. The hinged lid on the top would make a couple of lovely shelves. All the fiddly bits would make beautiful picture frames.

I wonder is it really walnut?

Comments

[amethysta]

Walnut in a landfill is a sad thought. I wonder if someone could convert it into hidden shelves or something like that.

BTW, I found your journal while looking up people with similar interests. I hope you don't mind me subscribing to yours.

[biascut.livejournal.com]

It probably is! It sounds really similar to my* piano, which belonged to my grandad (and is incidentally is the same as the one in D.H.Lawrence's house in Eastwood.) It is also walnut and absolutely beautiful as a piece of furniture, but a bit rubbish as an instrument. It's tuned up to concert pitch these days (for years it was a semi-tone below), and it's fine for my mum practicing choral pieces and probably for learning up to about Grade 5 or so. But you don't get much subtlety out of it.

But it sounds as if yours in an even worse shape than that - what a shame!


* I had assumed that it was actually my mum's piano at this stage, but she referred to it as my piano the other week! And said that I can take it as soon as Glitz and I live somewhere permanent! I'm not sure I will, because I might be able to get a better one for a few hundred quid, but am very excited that it's an option.

[tassie-gal.livejournal.com]

If its a London piano his assessment is probably right. However if its a good German piano with a steel frame hold onto it for dear life!

[nitoda]

I used to have a similar monstrosity. A very beautiful, solid piano which would have cost thousands to return into playable condition. I was convinced by a pianist friend that it was basically "firewood with strings" - I can't remember what happened to it when I purchased my new piano, maybe the piano shop disposed of it??

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Can you take the case apart yourself and use it for things?