High treble string breakage

[Israel Stein]

Greetings,

If some of you are so inclined, I wish to solicit opinions as to how I
should proceed with the following piano.

It is a Steinway M, 10 years old, and is in constant use by a very busy
up-and-coming concert pianist and teacher (she had to buy another piano so
that her family could play too). Over the past half-year or so strings in
the top 2 octaves have been breaking on a regular basis. My inclination is
to attribute this to metal fatigue - ten years of heavy use, her
repertoire (which consists of lots of contemporary works involving a lot
of loud playing in the top range of the piano) and her rather firm technique
suggest this to me.

The complicating factor is that according to the dealer, the piano had a
string breakage problem when it was brand new. The capo bar was filed
under warranty because of this excessive string breakage. I've been
servicing this instrument since 1990 and there was no unusual string
breakage until recently. She has been pushing me to do something, and I
was inclined to just restring the top 2 octaves, until I found out about
the abovementioned warranty work. I hate to mess around with the capo if
someone already has been there - so far (knock on delignite) we've had no
problems with pings, zings and things and I would hate to introduce them.
On the other hand, if capo treatment is indicated, I would hate to miss
this opportunity to do it.

Any good advice on what else I should check and how I should proceed here?

Thank you in advance


Israel Stein