Piano Pilgrimage on Radio 4

[ardcarp]

Jazz pianist Jamie Cullum explores the piano's place in modern life. With recent stories about the decline of the piano, Jamie delves behind the myths to find out about the history of the instrument he is most passionate about and looks at how the piano industry is still thriving in the UK.

In the first episode, Jamie begins by focusing on the piano itself and traces the story of an old abandoned piano that he rescued from a street corner. His journey leads him to the London Borough of Camden where piano historian Dr. Alastair Laurence takes him on a tour around the area that, only a century ago, was the world centre of the piano making industry.

After exploring some of the remaining piano retailers in the neighbourhood and playing London's most out of tune piano, Jamie travels to the Yorkshire Dales to visit one of the few places left in the country where pianos are still being made from scratch.

At Newark College, Jamie talks to the course leader and students at the last piano tuning course in the country and learns some surprising facts about the physics of piano tuning.

Finally, Jamie visits the Brontë's old family home to play on the sisters' own piano that has been carefully restored.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03nrlyg

Two more episodes to come.

[VodkaDilc]

Despite its bittiness and the seemingly random choice of subject matter, I will keep up with the next episodes. I suppose it was for a general audience who might appreciate JC more than I do, but it was rather too Jamie-centred for my liking. We know what an out of tune piano sounds like, without Jamie doing an endless improvisation on it.

I hope for something a bit more searching in later episodes.

[Gordon]

I agree it was a bit disappointing but then as you say it's a R4 programme set in 30 mins with a lot to cover. I found some of it hard to follow and I thought it needed to have some pictures!!

If you want to see how a piano is made from start to fnish you need to see Note by Note, the story of the building of a Steinway. Trouble is the flm lasts about 80 mins and you have to buy it:

http://vigelandscupturepark.blogspot.co.uk/

but you can get a couple pf clips on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAInt7hIZlU from Steinway themselves and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE0ayK_wmqo which gives you some of the well known top players commenting.

[ardcarp]

Indeed it was for a general audience, and I suppose using 'just a regular guy' as presenter is the BBC's way of making stuff 'accessible'. I found two things quite interesting: (i) the sheer scale of piano manufacture in one area of London in the late 19th/early 20th century, and (ii) the visit to the Bronte's piano...yes, a pity he couldn't strum a bit of Clementi on it.