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There's a wonderful article in our local newspaper today about Mason & Hamlin - about a Mason & Hamlin grand piano being featured in the movie "The Power of the Dog."
The director, Jane Campion, also directed the movie The Piano, which IMO was a fantastic movie that I never want to watch again! (I can't rewatch the thumb thing, if you've seen the movie, you know)
I wonder if there's a pianistic soundtrack in The Power of the Dog. The soundtrack for the Piano (by contemporary composer Michael Nyman) is often credited with inspiring a lot of people to take up the piano so they could play the main theme (the Heart Asks Pleasure First).
Started piano June 1999. Proud owner of a Yamaha C2
The soundtrack that accompanied the movie "Piano" inspired, as you say, a lot of people to take up the piano. That's great!
A while back here on PW we were discussing ways that might help bring greater popularity to playing piano which would also of course help piano sales. One of my suggestions was for a tv series that is set around a piano teacher. Something along the lines of "Cheers" only set around a piano teacher theme.
Wouldn't it be great if someone at Mason & Hamlin or Steinway or Charles Walter or some other piano maker had contacts with tv/movie industry moguls and they teamed up and made this or similar idea come to fruition?!
Jeanne W
Music is about the heart and so should a piano be about the heart. - Pique
I think rather than having it be about a piano teacher, it should be about a middle aged single person who takes up the piano, taking lessons and attending the teacher's recitals... and finds love in the process!
It's a Hallmark movie, it can have a happy ending with the hero or heroine playing the piano (like a pro, they go from beginner to concert pianist in 12 episodes) at his/her own wedding.
If it's Netflix, the hero/heroine takes up the piano, only to learn that their piano is actually a portal into alternate universes. As the main character's piano skills improve, the destination universes become more exciting and appealing...
If it's a network TV station, the main character is a cop in a city where the locals don't trust the police officers because of past problems. The main character holds a recital to encourage more positive relations with the townspeople, but will anyone attend??
If it's anime... oh nevermind, there are already animes with piano either as the soundtrack or as a key element, they don't need my ideas!
Last edited by ShiroKuro; 12/19/2112:57 PM.
Started piano June 1999. Proud owner of a Yamaha C2
I think rather than having it be about a piano teacher, it should be about a middle aged single person who takes up the piano, taking lessons and attending the teacher's recitals... and finds love in the process!
It's a Hallmark movie, it can have a happy ending with the hero or heroine playing the piano (like a pro, they go from beginner to concert pianist in 12 episodes) at his/her own wedding.
If it's Netflix, the hero/heroine takes up the piano, only to learn that their piano is actually a portal into alternate universes. As the main character's piano skills improve, the destination universes become more exciting and appealing...
If it's a network TV station, the main character is a cop in a city where the locals don't trust the police officers because of past problems. The main character holds a recital to encourage more positive relations with the townspeople, but will anyone attend??
If it's anime... oh nevermind, there are already animes with piano either as the soundtrack or as a key element, they don't need my ideas!
Come to think of it the movie “Groundhog’s Day” has Bill Murray learning to play piano by hiring the piano teacher to teach him piano over and over again. By the end of movie he can play professionally. It’s quite the plug for “practice makes perfect” and it has a happy ending.
J & J Estonia L190 Hidden Beauty The reason I’m old and wise is because God protected me when I was young and stupid.
I think rather than having it be about a piano teacher, it should be about a middle aged single person who takes up the piano, taking lessons and attending the teacher's recitals... and finds love in the process!
It's a Hallmark movie, it can have a happy ending with the hero or heroine playing the piano (like a pro, they go from beginner to concert pianist in 12 episodes) at his/her own wedding.
If it's Netflix, the hero/heroine takes up the piano, only to learn that their piano is actually a portal into alternate universes. As the main character's piano skills improve, the destination universes become more exciting and appealing...
If it's a network TV station, the main character is a cop in a city where the locals don't trust the police officers because of past problems. The main character holds a recital to encourage more positive relations with the townspeople, but will anyone attend??
If it's anime... oh nevermind, there are already animes with piano either as the soundtrack or as a key element, they don't need my ideas!
If it's on YouTube, then there was a piano in King Tut's tomb, a piano sank the Titanic, and pianos cause cancer!
It's a Hallmark movie, it can have a happy ending with the hero or heroine playing the piano (like a pro, they go from beginner to concert pianist in 12 episodes) at his/her own wedding.
Come to think of it the movie “Groundhog’s Day” has Bill Murray learning to play piano by hiring the piano teacher to teach him piano over and over again. By the end of movie he can play professionally. It’s quite the plug for “practice makes perfect” and it has a happy ending.
If the company only sold 100 pianos this year or last year that is not a positive fiscal sign IMO, especially if that includes pianos in their less expensive lines. To the best of my knowledge sales of pianos in 2020 increased despite some industry professionals predicting they would decrease. One reason some pianos are in short supply is some makers decreased production because they thought the pandemic would decrease demand.
There are some mistakes in the article. For example, about the length of M&H pianos. Also, when one M&H person says the pianos were designed to be loud so they could fill a concert hall that doesn't make sense to me since very few pianos are used in concert halls.
PS the 1st Classical Piece I learned was yes, you got it. . . Chopin's E-Flat Nocturne!
Last edited by brdwyguy; 12/19/2103:08 PM.
1961-1964: Lester or Emerson Upright 1969-1992: Westbrook Spinet 1991-2021: Schomacker Model A (1912) "Schoowie" 2021-Present: Steinway Model A (1912) "Amalia"
To Listen to my Music is to know me. To know me all you need do is listen to my music.
I think that some of you need to rethink this idea of a TV series based around a hero, a middle-aged person, or some other individual going from beginner to concert pianist in 12 episodes.
This may have appeal to those of us who can't stay away from our pianos and from Piano World, but I think that the general public who watches commercial TV would not find much interest in such a series. Moreover, I think that any producer would be well aware that such a series would not be commercially viable. It just wouldn't attract sponsors to support an esoteric commercial enterprise whose main focus is someone learning to play or playing the piano for whatever reasons or goals.
Oh well you see a mysterious photo is found hidden in the piano.There is also a name carved into the underneath part of the cabinet.So now you can finish the story! Actually that came from a video series I found at the library, starring Meryl Steep.It was quite good but I cannot remember what it was called.The piano was either a Steinway or a Bechstein.So, sorry! You would be steeling from a movie! 😃
If the company only sold 100 pianos this year or last year that is not a positive fiscal sign IMO, especially if that includes pianos in their less expensive lines. To the best of my knowledge sales of pianos in 2020 increased despite some industry professionals predicting they would decrease. One reason some pianos are in short supply is some makers decreased production because they thought the pandemic would decrease demand.
There are some mistakes in the article. For example, about the length of M&H pianos. Also, when one M&H person says the pianos were designed to be loud so they could fill a concert hall that doesn't make sense to me since very few pianos are used in concert halls.
From the article:
The novel identifies the piano as a Mason & Hamlin.
That's great - and they would have been foolish to use another brand in the film itself.
The Mason & Hamlin factory, located on Duncan Street in a tall, red-brick mill building where shoes were once made, employs about 35 people, half the number they did in 2017.
Really? Down to 35 now?
The company sells about 100 pianos a year. Its six models range from about 4 feet long to 9 feet 4 inches, the length of a horse.
I guess the writer felt he had to put this in terms someone living in the wild west would understand (i.e., length of a horse). About 4 feet long is actually 4'11" for one of the Chinese built baby grands. I always thought the company produced around 200 pianos a year - before adding the Chinese built lower cost line.
Prices start at about $11,000 for the smallest upright (strings and soundboard vertical) to more than $150,000 for the largest grand (strings and sound board horizontal).
This one threw me...$11K? Then I realized the author was referring to the new Chinese built M&H Artist and Classic Series instruments - the least expensive of which is $8,294. Of course, there is a BIG jump in price between those pianos and the ones built in Haverhill.
The Mason & Hamlin has a distinctive, big, powerful American sound, rich in bass.
I question whether that would really apply to the new Artist and Classic Series pianos, but would be happy to be proven wrong.
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