'It's kaputt.' Movers accidentally drop virtuoso's one-of-a-kind $194,000 piano

CNN ^ | 02/11/2020 | Emma Reynolds

[Responsibility2nd]

(CNN) — An extremely rare, $194,000 grand piano was smashed when movers dropped it while taking it out of a recording studio, Canadian virtuoso Angela Hewitt has revealed.

Hewitt, one of the world's leading classical pianists, said in a Facebook post that she had just finished recording Beethoven's piano variations in Berlin when the movers entered the studio control room to tell her they had dropped her handmade Fazioli piano.

The pianist said it had taken her 10 days to share the "very sad piece of news" because it "has been such a shock to me that I didn't immediately want to share it with the world."

Her precious F278 Fazioli piano was the only one in the world with four pedals, she wrote.

"I adored this piano. It was my best friend, best companion. I loved how it felt when I was recording -- giving me the possibility to do anything I wanted," she said.

"Now it is no longer."

The iron frame was broken, as was much of the structure, lid and case, she said.

Italian engineer and pianist Paolo Fazioli, the owner of Fazioli Pianos, declared the handmade instrument "unsalvageable," Hewitt wrote.

[Responsibility2nd]

[Responsibility2nd]

Should have hired a more reliable moving company.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Ouch!

[BenLurkin]

Beat me to it.

[NobleFree]

I was thinking illegal aliens.

[CommerceComet]

Did they hire this guy?

Priceless Steinway

[Gay State Conservative]

Years ago I watched movers talk a huge grand piano...like the one pictured...out of a 5th story window or door with a crane. Didn't stick around long enough to see if they dropped it but it was an interesting sight.

[Simon Foxx]

[left that other site]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZitGsc67TE

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The poor woman. I'm sure the anguish must be horrible.

[Responsibility2nd]

Years ago I helped move an antique upright piano.

There were 8 of us. Lifting that thing on the back of a pickup. Heaviest dang thing I ever saw!

[glennaro]

Thanks for the laugh, this morning. L&H were comedy geniuses ... that’s for sure!

[Red Badger]

IIRC, there are specialized moving companies that handle rare and expensive items like this. Of course they cost a bit more than ‘Two Guys and a Truck’..................

[2banana]

I don’t think Germans moved it.

[Responsibility2nd]

[Boogieman]

Guess it’s time to start a GoFundMe page.

[Jane Long]

Does the article say who she hired?

[Pearls Before Swine]

Its a recurring theme. Pianos are tough to move, especially from upper floors.

Death Wish Piano movers of Boston:

Death Wish Piano Movers

[redangus]

I didn’t know Fazoli’s made pianos. Made that’s why it broke. Uncooked pasta is kind of brittle, and cooked pasta is limp.

[left that other site]

L & H were an important part of my 50’s childhood.

My Dad was a projectionist, and on the Night Before The Fourth, he would cordon off our street and show L & H in 16mm to the whole neighborhood.

Since Fireworks were (and still are) illegal in MA, it was an excellent alternative.

PS...My mother’s piano had to stay put when we sold her home, because we COULDN’T get it down the stairs.