• The Purple Queen

    Our Finest Restoration to Date 

  • The Purple Queen

    Our Finest Restoration to Date 

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In 2018, we completed the restoration of a 1924 Steinway Louis XV B from the ground up – a no expense spared, no detail-left-unturned custom rebuild that elevated this once neglected piano to the highest performance standards.

The history of this piano is a story unto itself; so much so, that Gloria Goodale, the owner wrote a marvelous book about it, but from the perspective of the piano. Along with the details of each phase of the restoration, is a wistful account of the piano’s birth in the Steinway factory, periods of gradual neglect, and its eventual transformation to an instrument that is now better than it was when it was new. It’s a wonderful read, written by a grateful client and a reflection of the attention to detail we put into clients’ piano restorations.

Restoration Highlights

• New soundboard featuring old growth Sitka spruce
• Custom treble and bass strings
• Renner action parts & Tokiwa damper action
• Renner Wiekert Felt Hammers

• Rebuilt and redesigned action frame
• Precision balanced action using precise Stanwood Protocols
• Custom mineralized keytops/handcrafted ebony sharps
• Hand stained and rubbed open pore finish

Listen to the Purple Queen

In collaboration with Gloria Goodale, owner of the Purple Queen and pianist Danny Holt, we recorded the Purple Queen for your listening pleasure so you can experience the magnificent sound of this piano.

Track one:

Track two:

About Danny Holt:

Called “phenomenal” by the late music critic Alan Rich, and hailed as one of the “local heroes” of the Los Angeles music scene (LAcitybeat.com), pianist Danny Holt has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Blue Man Group, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the California EAR Unit, and the Calder Quartet, and he has held fellowships at the Bang On a Can Summer Music Institute, the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, and New England Conservatory’s Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice. His recorded catalog includes the recent solo album “Piano Music of Mike Garson” and other solo, chamber, and orchestral releases on the Innova Recordings label, pfMENTUM, New World Records, Deutsche Grammophon, and l’st records. Holt holds degrees from California Institute of the Arts, Hampshire College, Smith College, and Interlochen Arts Academy.

For more information, please visit: www.dannyholt.net

If you’d like to preview the Purple Queen book online, click HERE. You can also purchase a hard copy HERE.

If you are interested in discussing restoring your piano to look, play, and sound better than new, drop us a line.