how to.... grand piano george rogers

[karen]

I would like to look under the keys of the Grand George Rogers Piano..picture posted...The piano movers did it for me when they moved the piano..and the treble c worked and has stopped working..how do I get all the keys out?...it won't strike the string.

[Withindale]

Karen
The experts here are going to tell you that your piano needs tuning after its move so ask the tuner to sort out that key and any other problems. Taking all the keys out could be a very high risk exercise for you if you don't know exactly what you are doing. I believe George Rogers made good pianos that deserve professional servicing.

[karen]

many thanks for your reply regarding looking under the keys...I will certainly await my piano tuner ..with more patience... I also would like to thank you for reinforcing my belief that George Rogers made good pianos....

[vernon]

George Rogers made excellent pianos and were called the " English Bechstein" for some reason, mainly because they pinched several minor features of the actions.
Your tuner will fix any minor disencobulations due to it's move/
dinna fass!

[karen]

which minor features did they pinch..in view of the fact that george rogers did work for Bechstein...I am curious..Please could you elaborate...

[vernon]

eg on the uprights the action pillars are a dead copy of Bechstein.
I haven't got one at present

[Withindale]

Rogers, George, London - Est'd 1843
One of Britain's top manufacturers. We understand that the quality of Rogers' pianos was transformed after building London-made pianos for Bechstein in the early 1890s, and some of Rogers' own models were strikingly similar. http://www.courtneypianos.co.uk/makes-R.html

[karen]

many thanks for everyone's informative posts...To Withingdale...in what way was George Roger's pianos transformed after he started making piano's for Bechstein..surely Rogers must have had a good reputation already for Bechstein to use him...he was trained by "collard and collard" ..please could you elaborate..

[Withindale]

Well, that's really all I know. There was a boom in piano production around 1900, see quote about Bechstein below. I imagine Bechstein commissioned local production to meet the demand through their London showroom and sales offices. I suppose this could have been local assembly of Bechstein product and/or product produced to Bechstein production standards. Either way Rogers would have learnt a lot about producing high quality instruments.

Such an arrangement is common in many industries. Today several piano manufacturers in China have links with German firms and designers.

Administrative/Biographical history:
Bechstein are a German firm of piano makers founded in Berlin in 1853 by Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Bechstein (1826-1900), who founded the firm in 1853 in Berlin. Following successful receptions at the 1862 London exhibition and the 1867 Paris exhibition, the output of the firm grew from 300 instruments a year during the 1860s to 1000 a decade later, 3000 during the 1890s and 5000 in the years preceding World War I. Following the founder's death, his sons Edwin Bechstein and Carl Bechstein assumed control and later Carl's son, also Carl, joined the firm. The importance of the British market to the firm was such that half of the firm's annual output of pianos was sold there. The firm sought to provide an impressive yet intimate showcase for recitals (particularly featuring the firm's instruments). In 1901 the firm opened a concert room in London, known as the Bechstein Hall, next to its showrooms on Wigmore Street; the first concert on 31 May 1901 featured the virtuoso pianist Ferruccio Busoni. The Hall quickly came renowned for its superb acoustics and enjoyed popularity with both performers and the public. Bechstein, like other German firms in Britain during World War One, experienced anti-German hostility and a decline in business. The firm's affairs were wound up in 1916 by the Board of Trade and the entire business - including studios, offices, warehouses, 137 pianos, and the Hall itself - was sold at auction to Debenhams for £56,500. The Hall reopened in 1917 as the Wigmore Hall. http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/det ... earch&nv2=

[karen]

thank you to all that have replied to my questions..Thank you Withingdale to a very interesting reply! .....
Does anyone know seeing that George Rogers has a date..1843..have any of his piano s been found from the 1800 s .....also, did he ever supply any of his piano s to ex. the royal houses in Europe?...(as Bechstein had) any photos?... of grands of George Rogers piano s from that period....

[Otto]

I owned a Rogers 5'11" grand from 1980 to 1986'ish and traded it in for a fish-tailed Bechstein model IV (7'5"). It was built sometime between the wars, probably the 1920's, and was a very pleasing piano to play and own.

Good second division stuff.

[karen]

to Otto thanks for your reply.Do you have a photo of your grand piano rogers that you owned and ..do you know or remember what the serial no was?....I am still trying to locate mine...mine was shipped from London to South Africa quite some time ago...

[Otto]

Sorry for the belated reply, I don't pop in here too often,

No, I never took a photo of the piano, and never, ever bothered with jotting down the serial number.

(I'm obviously a waste of space !)

[karen]

Thanks Otto. Defitely not a a waste of space. Thanks for the reply.
I am looking for a french polisher of piano s in South africa if any one knows of one. My keys have gone off to be fixed. Have an empty shell....

[J4se]

I think I might have one of the rogers bechsteins- the date is about right and it says bechstein london and Berlin in the soundboard instead of all the usual bechstein crests and writing... It's an 1894 model v.
All I know is that it came from a school that had donated it to charity, who then sold it to me!