The Dedication of Craftsmen and Their Art

If you appreciate craftsmanship, talent, dedication, team effort, great music and long-standing traditions, then you will derive joy and viewing satisfaction from watching the movie, "Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037". This film follows the production of a concert grand piano in the Steinway factory from start to finish, explaining each process along the way. Each piano is given an identification, thus the number L1037. The painstaking process takes approximately one year and involves countless craftsmen and specialists, each of whom has honed his/her craft over many years. The Steinway factory in Astoria, Queens, New York is one of the very few production centers where pianos are still made in the old tradition and has not succumbed to modernization. The movie emphasizes that it is becoming harder and harder to find talented craftsmen who either know the skills required or that can apprentice for such detailed and intricate work. Much of the existing talent was passed down from prior generations to keep the skills and manufacturing traditions alive, but this is always subject to the possibility of extinction. From the selection of the best wood to the final inspection by tuning and toning sound experts, viewers will see the construction of a magnificent musical instrument and come to appreciate the love and dedication that went into it. Also, professional musicians explain what they look for in a piano - what sound are they trying to achieve and which piano "speaks" to them. It is a fascinating process, since no two instruments are alike. Each has its own soul.

This is one of the most beautiful and gratifying movies I have watched, exhibiting the best in human beings...people working together to create a magnificent outcome, enabling so many to hear the beautiful sounds produced by the miraculous fingers that touch their keyboards. You will be enriched and happier for having watched the collaboration needed to produce an instrument we most likely take for granted.