whilst innovation, if any,
was skewed towards finding
cheaper solutions for mass
production.
In the absence of improved piano
sound, which for 150 years had driven
experiment with new styles, came
stagnation in composing classical
music. New genres of composition
followed the same trend of stagnation,
so much so that by the middle of the
20th century the future of classical
piano came into question for lack of
innovative interest.
In such an environment it requires
a maverick to decide to swim against
the tide. Such a man is Richard Dain,
the polymath founder of Kent-based
Phoenix Pianos. His mission since
founding the company has been
to recapture the innovative drive
of the 19th century piano builders,
COVER STORY | PIANO DESIGN
THHITET RINIGGH NO ES T A top-end UK piano maker has embraced
innovative technologies to create products
Tthat mean pianists hear and feel the difference. he design of pianos is
not a discipline that one
instinctively associates
with innovation. And with
good reason: the fundamental design
of the concert piano has remained
largely unchanged since 1876, when
the Steinway Centennial Grand was
developed.
This was the culmination of an
explosion of ideas within the piano
industry throughout the 19th Century.
Reciprocity between piano builders,
composers, pianists, patrons and
audiences propelled enormous
rates of innovation in both
instruments and
composition and a variety of design
concepts became available, each
offering something unique to the
world of music.
By the late 19th century, however,
piano building had largely converged
on a design paradigm that was to
persist throughout the 20th century,
amidst an atmosphere of increasing
reluctance to explore new design
concepts. Piano makers shifted
their focus towards branding,
value engineering and marketing,
12 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | JULY 2019
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