88 Keys

by Miles Chapin

Beloved by concert performers and amateur enthusiasts alike, the Steinway piano is the most complicated piece of machinery made by hand in the world today. Remarkably, it is still being manufactured at the Long Island City, New York, factory that has been its home for more than 125 years. Now Miles Chapin, great-great-grandson of founder Henry Engelhard Steinway, takes you on a journey through the making of the world's greatest musical instrument, from the selection and aging of wood to the delicate voicing of the finished instrument. Along the way, we meet the strong men who bend grand piano rims to their 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 craftsmen who have perfected their specialized contributions to the finished product. In this lively history, complete with musical time line, Chapin explains how the grand piano got that way, and how Steinway & Sons achieved greatness