5/5 Note by Note is a winner.
  by Steve D. Hicks (Sandia Park, New Mexico United States)
As a woodworker and a lover of fine music, I found this documentary to be captivating. I loved the mix of everyday working people and the world class musicians all striving for perfection.

I highly recommend this dvd to anyone who enjoys fine music or who enjoys seeing how things are made.



3/5 Bits and pieces
  by MG
I thought it was a really nice idea to follow the making of a Steinway from the woods to the stage. But in my opinion this film didn't make the best out of this idea.

It gives contributions from many perspectives: some technical stuff and history, some personal stories from the workers, statements from the Steinway bosses and various artists. But everything halfheartedly mingled together, without any deeper interest for anything.

Obviously supported by Universal Music, it features some sounding names like Lang Lang or Helene Grimaud. But after the film you think by yourself: is this the creme de la creme of the current classical pianist scene? And you think with nostalgy about charismatic figures like Horowitz, Rubinstein or even Glenn Gould.

It also could have been a fascinating film with the focus on the pure technical sides if it would have followed this path with curiosity and interest, or with the focus on the staff which also would have provided enough material for an interesting portrait.

Instead of this it gives bits and pieces which still make a nice film but not the film it could have been.

5/5 The Making of a Miracle
  by Alan Lekan (Boulder, CO)
This is a truly marvelous documentary that should appeal to anyone with musical interests. Even more than the celebration of a miraculous musical instrument, it is the honoring of the diverse, inner-city craftsmen and women who lovingly and skillfully craft these musical wonders called Steinway pianos.

The building of this particular piano - unglamorously titled L1037 - is intersperse with episodes of some famous and diverse pianists dropping into the Steinway showroom to select just the right piano for their next performance. Featured are classical artists Helene Grimaud, Pierre-Laurant Aimard and Chinese dynamo Lang Lang (who is hilariously impromptu and impressive here) - as well as some jazz artists as Harry Connick Jr.

I'm not a pianist, but I can easily imagine how special it is to play a Steinway Grand, especially one that ideally suits your tastes. (I suspect playing an Italian Fazioloi Concert Grand would also inspire the same). Seeing the intricacies of these pianos in this DVD will only highten your appreciation and understanding of how thousands of individual efforts by dozens of craftspeople over the course of the year in production leads to that magical, full, bell-like tone a trained ear can readily identify as "Steinway." A unique and delightful story of an American legend wonderfully suited for family appreciation. 5 stars

5/5 A Timeless Icon of Modern Culture
  by J. Spradling (Syracuse, NY)
The Steinway company is the only piano manufacturer to be responsible for virtually every important innovation in the history of the instrument, to continue to build their instruments by hand, and to command a lion's share of concert houses in the world. Their instruments are capable of being passed down through generations of family, and then rebuilt, to continue their incredible lifespan. With all due respect to the few other well-known pianos, some venerable, there is no other instrument maker in history to challenge the above statement.

Considering economics, and the natural tendency to find cheaper and faster ways to produce pianos, it is not surprising that today's Steinway finds itself a relatively high-priced and outnumbered item on the floor of even Steinway stores, who have scrambled to display their own lesser-priced brands, as well as the competition's instruments. "Note by Note" is a relatively non-technical, layman's appraisal of the building of a model D Concert Grand, and it is narrated by classical and jazz Steinway artists. However, the greatest appeal, in my opinion, is revealed in how this piano continues to be sought after by families, students, and elder statesmen of varying nationalities. This video is a clear and enjoyable indication of what goes into the making of a superb instrument, and a strong reminder of how much our culture needs icons of surpassing excellence and timeless value, unthreatened by modern demands of greater volume and lower price. Its statement to this effect is enjoyable to non-musicians as well as those who play the piano.

5/5 A great piano build
  by T. D. Koelmeyer (AUCKLAND, New Zealand)
Anyone with an interset in piano music needs to have this. Wonderful. This DVD gives an insight into the people, their philosophy and their dedication to building a work of art--the Steinway Grand. Takes one from the tree to the concert stage.