In 1820, Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco, an Italian instrument maker produced a new type of instrument that would revolutionize the musical world as we know it: the Piano. Over the course of the next 100 years, the piano underwent a fantastic evolution in both design and asthetics that makes it arguably one of the most amazing and complex fetes of engineering of the last two centuries. The heyday for these instruments came from about 1880-1932, when the “modern” design for piano actions, coupled with the caring, hand-created building of these beheamoths made for instruments that survive the very test of time, while maintaining a sound that has very little change from when the piano first left the assembly floor.
What’s the purpose of this blog? To provide an in-depth well of information to musicians, music lovers, piano owners and those just curious to learn more about the piano, related to this wonderful instrument. On this site you will find (hopefully) all you ever wanted to know (or, perhaps, didn’t) about the piano.
Who am I? I am a man dedicated to the age honored methods of tuning, maintenance, and restoration of these pianos. Whether museum pieces, family heirlooms, or that lonely instrument collecting dust in the corner of a church, I’m dedicated to helping these vintage instruments sound their very best.
I offer a wide array of services on all pianos, including tuning, moving, and all levels of repair and restoration, from temperament and adjustments to part fabrication and replacement, to full and complete restoration. If you are interested, feel free to contact me via email at bprofai1@uwyo.edu. I work within a large area, mainly concentrated in Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota, but I will travel anywhere depending on your particular situation.
Brian Profaizer is a professional piano technician, specializing in the restoration and re-manufacturing of vintage pianos. A self-described “professional tinker-er” Brian is an expert on the pneumatically driven systems that power player pianos and reed organs. Brian works primarily out of his workshop in Laramie, Wyoming, although this line of work has seen him travel all over the country on various service calls. In his spare time, Brian enjoys the outdoors, where he goes to try and not think about pianos. It usually doesn’t work.
