Restoring an 1850s American Chickering grand piano Pt 1 скачать в хорошем качестве

Restoring an 1850s American Chickering grand piano Pt 1

Pianist Artis Wodehouse visited piano restorer Robin Hufford at his workshop in Fort Worth, Texas on June 30, 2014 to see and hear the results obtained by the ongoing restoration of a magnificent 7ft. 7in. 1850s American Chickering small concert grand piano, Scale 19. A piano company which subsequently would become known as Chickering & Sons was founded by Jonas Chickering and some partners in 1823. They based their designs upon the numerous innovations developed by European builders in the first half of the 19th century, However, it was Chickering & Sons that introduced the full cast iron frame as a means of controlling the distorting effects of the aggregate string tensions of the instrument which negatively effected both tuning stability and the structural adequacy of the design over time. Jonas Chickering received a patent for such a frame for grands in 1843. The innovation made for a more stable, durable and louder piano, and, as such, became the industry standard which continues to the present day. Although straight strung, these pianos are, in fact, the first modern pianos. During the 1840s and 1850s Chickering established itself as the most important of American piano makers and as the originator of a radical new system of stability allowing for increased tonal clarity and power which would became the prototype for all subsequent production. Awareness of the excellence of its instruments rapidly spread to Europe as well as throughout the United States. It was only in the 1930s and 40s that the public perception of Chickering as being at least equal, if not superior, to that of Steinway fell away for a number of reasons. Robin Hufford is a Registered Piano Technician, and well-known as an authority on several piano companies designs, but particularly, those made by Chickering. Through three linked video chapters he describes the restoration of this suprisingly modern piano, comparing and contrasting it to the design and structure now the industry standard. Chapter one Robin Hufford's descriptive overview of the instrument. Chapter two 04:36 Robin Hufford explains the function and construction of a Brown action and what is needed to restore it properly. Chapter three 09:17 Robin Hufford compares and contrasts the Chickering Brown action to the Herz-Erard action -- a competing action design also originating in the early 19th C. -- that eventually triumphed over the Brown action to became standard to the modern grand. Nonetheless, Hufford shows how the Chickering Brown action has many design characteristics that were carried over into the modern grand. Special thanks to David Fialho for his video work onsite at Hufford's workshop. Video editor is Whitney Slaten.