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The piano was invented in Italy, refined by the French and almost perfected by the Germans. But for a period in the 19th century, British-made models were among the best in the world. Successful companies such as John Broadwood & Sons and Welmar were followed by companies such as Kemble and Knight, but by the time of the Great Depression British industry was already in decline. Fierce competition, lack of innovation and the arrival of the gramophone were to blame.
That decline was long and drawn out, but when Kemble moved its manufacturing to the Far East in 2009, that seemed to be it. That was a shame. Kemble’s Chappell piano, one of which I grew up playing and now sits at my home in Essex, is a reminder that we can produce some fantastic instruments, although although mine stays in tune and sounds wonderful, it feels quite loud and piercing . . “I think the hammers are probably worn out,” says Mark Norman in edelweiss. “They can become hard over time and very percussive.”
Norman knows this better than most. In the mid-1970s, his father decided to set up a family business in Cambridgeshire dedicated to repairing old pianos. He named the company 1066, a nod to the family name. “We discovered the DNA of what makes a really good piano,” says Norman. “We called it rebuilding, and every job we completed was absolutely pukka.”
Edelweiss, a reference to the rarity and beauty of the alpine flower, was founded 16 years ago as a branch of 1066. Their goal: to produce unique, custom-made instruments (“We passionately believe that a piano does not have to be big and black with three legs,” says Norman).
But during the pandemic, the length of Edelweiss’ supply chain raised the question of whether it would be possible to make a piano without sourcing parts from abroad, particularly the Far East. It turned out that the answer was “almost.” The resulting piano, the new S132It is described by Norman as “the finest baby grand piano in the world” and, with the exception of the action mechanism, was made entirely in this country.
Rather than reverse engineer any of the pianos 1066 had rebuilt over the years, Edelweiss designed one from scratch. The first, and most pressing, problem was the frame, which is traditionally hot cast iron. “No foundry here could easily make one,” says Norman. “So this one is waterjet cut into steel and welded together.” The search for British welders and fabricators who showed the necessary level of passion for the project was long, but it was worth the wait. “They are very skilled and very proud of what they do,” he says. “And so, by working together as a team, we get better results.”
Edelweiss is known for its unusual and eye-catching designs, with transparent parts and elegant decorations. Her first piano, on display in her Cambridgeshire showroom, is a riot of primary colours. “We put it in the workshop and it became our best seller. She set the tone and showed what a piano could be.”
The S132 comes in some extraordinary variants, including the Solis (topped with “solar discs” finished in 24-karat gold leaf) and a transparent model that reveals everything from the hammers to the pedal rods. I played a comparatively traditional version called Eclipse on light oak, and the sweetness of tone and delicacy of dynamics were a world away from my rather strident Chappell. I felt like I had more control; He could play harder without individual notes sticking out, which ultimately meant it was more fun to play and, perhaps most importantly, made me sound like a better pianist.
Pianos are generally built to project sound quite strongly (I’ve played a Steinway on the Barbican stage but it’s very different to what you want on a home piano), and that’s an issue Edelweiss has tackled head-on. “Grand pianos in particular have high-tension strings and a very rigid soundboard, so everything roars,” says Norman. “And, of course, that can cause a hum when you’re playing, but if you’re not a hardcore pianist, you don’t really want that in your house, with the sound dominating the room. You want something that is beautiful to listen to. “I don’t know of any other manufacturer that takes this approach.”
As the only pianist in my house, if I want to hear the piano I have to do it myself, with consequent restrictions on repertoire and, let’s be honest, on the quality of the performance. The Eclipse, and indeed the entire Edelweiss range, can be supplied as an autoplayer, where MIDI files sent wirelessly from a tablet can activate a solenoid rail within the instrument which ultimately does what your fingers would do. , if they could. to: press the correct notes, in the correct order, with the correct duration and with the correct weight. Some models even allow you to record performances for mechanical playback later.
“It sounds bad, but a lot of our customers don’t know how to play the piano, but they love real, live acoustic music,” says Norman. “You can do a fantastic job with electronics (Yamaha Clavinovas are very good), but you hear an electronically reproduced sound. When you listen to a piano, you hear a high-tension piece of felt hitting a copper wire, and that does something different. It brings true beauty to the spaces we live in. And that’s really good for you.”