Blog by John Pierce - Duluth Fine Pianos, LLC

A Piano January in Duluth

1/30/2015

It has been a relatively warm month, compared to the last couple of years. Still, there is snow on the ground, there is ice in the harbor and in the bay, the sled-dog race was held. And we had a Grand Opening. And we have a store and we have customers, and Duluth is going to become a piano place!

We are working to find a rhythm for the store and for services. Esther is working to finish her piano in time for the 2nd Friday Art Crawl Duluth. It is looking fabulous! Two days a week there are lessons happening in our "Yellow Room." Angela seems to be at home. She and her cellist husband, Aleks Tengesdal, will be performing live during the Art Crawl, too!

The Art Crawl website is slowly taking shape, adding participants, becoming a "thing!" There are other pianistic ideas being bandied about here, too. Stay tuned.

One of the coolest discoveries this week deals with a former piano professor at Duluth's College of St. Scholastica. I will dedicate much more space in future posts to this pianist, and how he relates to Pierce & Piszczek. Suffice to say, there are some excited scholars around here.

Stay warm, stay dry, enjoy the weather wherever you are, but know that the adventures that Duluth has to offer, be they musical or weather-related, know not their equal!

Tuning?

1/24/2015

So, the salesman says, "One of the big advantages of the digital pianos is that they never need to be tuned." Well, by partner, Paul, the Registered Piano Technician, never a fan of digital pianos for that very reason, is currently sitting at the CVP 609, the flagship of YAMAHA's Clavinovas, and discovering that he can put it out of tune! So I am being subjected to some really twangy chords and 'music' accompanied by a chorus of laughs! He is finally enjoying himself with a digital piano! The YAMAHA specialist, Craig Knudsen, said that this instrument could do anything. Well, it can also be made to play out of tune!

I have been corrected. It actually can be tuned differently, so it can be made to play with Baroque intonation, just intonation, different temperaments, perfect 3rds (which, when played in chords sound really awful) and much much more! I think Paul is falling in love with that thing, and this on the anniversary of his wife's birth! For shame!

But seriously, folks, our 609 is an amazing machine, and we are learning every day more of the fun that can be had with it. I was enjoying playing with a jazz trio earlier. All by myself. It changes chords with me as I go. Extraordinary.

More again, soon. Don't forget to get your pianos tuned, soon, by our own Registered Piano Technician!

Sing for Hope Pianos

1/23/2015

The Sing For Hope Piano Kickstarter Campaign sounds like a great idea! Watch the video! What a great way to mix visual art and music, and bring it to the streets! I saw this, and had to share it. Please do the same!

The Arrival of the Clavinovas!

1/21/2015

The last 2 instruments that belong on our showroom floor are due to arrive any time now. We already have our CVP 609, the top Clavinova model, and the most advanced digital piano of all time! As Yamaha expert and former Duluthian, Craig Knudsen said, "If you can think of it, it is already in there!" One of these days, we will be able to say, "Come in, make a recording of yourself on the 609, and we will email it to your smartphone before you leave the store!" This thing is a complete home entertainment machine. Even if you have never played and think you cannot, you will be able to create wonderful music with the 609.
So, we will be getting its siblings today, the CVP 601 and the CVP 605. That means 2 more big boxes and some simple assembly again. But nothing we can't handle!
Angela's students have been coming in, as they make the transition to having lessons in our store. Its fun to talk to them, as well as the parents, who are also experiencing something new here. So far, so good! The piano sounds good, and everyone gets a kick out of the Disklavier!

More soon. There is work going on to create the 2nd Friday Art Crawl in Duluth......

A Wonderful Newspaper Article

1/19/2015

An article appeared in today's Duluth News Tribune, announcing the Grand Opening of our business. Paul was particularly happy with it. I was just ecstatic! It featured a really big picture of the two of us, all dressed up for the ribbon cutting, in our store behind one of the pianos that will be my livelihood. Here is a link to the article: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/3658517-new-piano-store-finds-home-old-downtown

We spent a little time in the store today. Of course, it is not only a holiday, but it is also a regular day off for the store. But we needed to move some things around and get our teaching room ready for our in-house piano teacher. Angela will be bringing students to the store to teach in one of two rooms that are off to the side. She will be teaching 2 days per week. I look forward to hearing the sounds from the rooms!

It is another part of the great experiment. How will everything work out? Stay tuned to this page!

Ryan Frane and Friends: Transformative!

1/17/2015

A jazz event is just different. But then, it's also the same. People come in, they sit down, there are introductions, there is some tuning, and then music begins. Three guys (in this case) who have never played together. A Great Experiment. They all know the songs they will play.....only after the pianist tells them what they are going to play next. "This song is always played in F. I don't know why. Did you ever play it in another key?" "No, always in F" "Ok, in F then." And then magic happens. Last night the friends were Veikko Lepisto on bass and Ben Baldwin on drums, the first an experienced veteran of many tours, but with obvious joy in the making of something new, and the other still a "student" at UMD, but clearly a maestro in the making. And the master himself, Ryan Frane, at the helm, showing the way, with creativity, nuance,
beauty, style, humor, sensitivity, class.

Never played together.

Once again, Standing Room Only. For Paul and I also a grand experiment. How will our store work for such an event? The sounds were amazing. From the quietest PPP (Pierce/Piszczek/Pianos) to the loudest FF (fine fun!), everything sounded great in the space. Maybe the sight lines weren't always the best, but the mirrors made up for some of that. Always a different angle on the action. Again, some youngsters in the room. This time maybe a bit more formal, but the discussions went on in all corners during the break.
I wish we had better control over the heat and humidity. Maybe that will come. We are learning how to accommodate a larger audience. The atmosphere makes up for a lot. There is a lot to look at in our store.

A jazz night is always different. Sometimes it never seems to end. Even in the break and afterwards, notes were flying around the room from keys that had to be played. We earned a few more fans last night, Paul and I. Our store offers something different to Downtown Duluth. Maybe the parking could be better (it will be, I am promised). Still, people will learn that they have to get there earlier to get a good seat. They will learn that there is free parking one block away in both directions. They will learn that magic is happening in our store.
Don't worry if you missed the concert last night. I think there will be more.

The Call of the LOON!

1/16/2015

Last night's concert....what fun! Standing Room Only! Guess what. I just sat down to write this entry, and some of the performers for tonight's concert walked in to set up. A store owner's work is never done! In the background Paul is tuning the U1. That one needs it, especially because a customer is coming tomorrow to look at it specifically. After the Grand Opening, there has been a good deal of buzz. Things are happening!

Last night's concert......what fun! SO great to have my friends join us for some music making. SO great that they are such great singers and musicians and pianists! It was truly a Baby Grand Night for Singing! Complete with Sarah Mehle singing Irving Berlin's "I Love a Piano!"

Ok, the guys are here, I need to set up the chairs and the dessert table. Tomorrow I will write about it!

Craig Knudsen visits his Homeland

1/15/2015

Yamaha Specialist, Craig Knudsen is still in town! Yesterday he gave TV interviews as well as a Clavinova Showcase. Among many other things, we learned that his late father was IBM's youngest district manager in Duluth, MN, and that they held meetings in the Pickwick Restaurant, just across the street from us! It was old home day for him! Today he will hold a Seminar for music teachers, dealing with technology, a lot of it of his own invention! We hope he returns to his roots many times in the future!

Grand Opening!

1/14/2015

Paul putting the final touches on a piano for today's grand opening. We are all pretty excited!

Esther has been hard at work, transforming a piano. This is just the preliminary stage, just the beginnings. The magic is going to start happening in the very near future!

The Week Begins!

1/11/2015

All the instruments from the first order are in the store, and in a satisfactory arrangement. The Disklavier is now running from the internet! Esther is hard at work with our (hopefully) first art piano. The work she has done to date is fabulous! I put together the fall board (the set of boards that cover the keys) with its 2 long hinges that now sparkle after being polished. Just take a look at the pictures!

We had a lovely art opening last Friday. Some of the guests even tried out some of the pianos. I think we have created an atmosphere in the store that will make it a fun place to visit. Now we just have to survive the opening week.

We joined the Chamber of Commerce in Duluth, who will christen us with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony this coming Wed. afternoon. Come on down and witness history in the making! I have to run, but there is a lot still to write about. The happenings at Pierce and Piszczek are many and exciting!