The piano that my children are using at home is probably around 50 years old. This is the piano bought by my mother in 1981. That was 40 years ago. I and my siblings all started playing the piano at 6 years old. That was the magic number back in the ’80s when you want to learn something new and be good at it. This piano produced a Bachelor in Music, Major in Piano in UP Diliman. Oh, that was not me. That’s my eldest sister. This piano also produced a National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) contestant. That was not me either. That was my little brother who started piano lessons at 4 years old.
Many of our growing up memories were created alongside this piano. We usually had piano lessons on Saturdays. I recall that we need to practice 1 hour everyday after school. Whenever my mother arrived from work, at around 4 or 5 o’ clock, she would lie on the reclining chair to rest. Then she would ask each one of us to play the piano. She would know if we practiced or not ( She does not know how to play the piano. I guess, mothers have superpowers. )
When it was time for my own children to start piano lessons, we had to have a piano at home so they can practice everyday. We had the piano in Gensan shipped to our new home in Iloilo.
When the piano arrived, I called Mr. Reyes to check and tune it. I asked for his opinion if the piano was still good. He said that the piano was still good and did not need major repairs. There were no missing keys. There was only a couple of keys, that do not go back up when played repeatedly. The casing was still intact and was still looking good. I remember when we were kids, that we need to put Pledge when wiping the piano.
When he opened the piano, I saw the soundboard. He was impressed that it was well maintained. It did not smell. There were no cracks on the wooden and iron frame. It was the first time that I paid attention to the internal organs of the piano. I knew that our piano is Renner but here is this German sounding name on the frame.
So, at this age that information is at the palm of our hands, I googled Kreutzer-Petrof piano. I found out that Carl Kreutzer made violins in 1879 in New York City. Later, his company manufactured pianos and the Kreutzer Piano Company was born. His pianos are ” of very good quality and craftsmanship.” But after the Great Depression in 1933, none was heard of this company. (https://antiquepianoshop.com/online-museum/kreutzer/)
About Petrof. “PETROF is a significant producer of acoustic grand and upright pianos in Europe.”It has been producing pianos since 1894 (https://www.petrof.com/about-petrof)
Hmmm… Interesting facts.
A second hand piano could last decades if taken cared of properly. Mr. Reyes finished tuning the piano and it is now my family’s turn to make music and memories with this piano. I hope I can keep this piano working for more decades.
houseprojecteva 