Falcone pianos

[Horace Greeley]

Hi, Richard,

At 12:38 PM 3/13/2007, you wrote:
>Dear Marshall,
>You left out an important step in the Santi Falcone story. Bud Greer 
>and Lloyd Meyer actually bought out Santi and offered him a postion 
>as a technician. That was when Santi left the company.

Yes...though I wasn't going to name names, I suppose that it doesn't 
really matter now.

>The Burgett Brothers did not get involved until Greer tired of the 
>investment and let the company go into bankruptcy. It was the 
>Burgett Bros. who bought the company oput of bankruptcy and have 
>steered it to be the company that it is today.

This really is an important point.  As with S&S when Paley (CBS) 
bought the firm from the family corporation, the alternative was to 
lose the company altogether.

I'll stand by my earlier statement, though, that it was the hours in 
each instrument that drove the original bankruptcy and 
collapse.  There hasn't been piano building on that level (by a 
manufacturer) in the U.S. since before WWI.  The instruments (as 
Marshall noted, all 200 of them) were uniformly quite marvelous...as 
long as you took them for what they were and did not try to make them 
into something they were not.  My favorite remains the 7', but the 
others were also very good.

>I know this because Cunningham Piano was a Falcone dealer AND a 
>Mason & Hamlin dealer - we still are.


Best.

Horace


>
>All the best,
>
>Richard Galassini
>Cunningham Piano Company
>(215) 991-0834
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: falcone1132 at tmlp.com
>To: pianotech at ptg.org
>Sent: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 2:03 AM
>Subject: Re: Falcone pianos
>
>Hello list folks!
>
>Let me try to shed a bit of light about Falcone pianos.  Santi 
>Falcone began building pianos in his small shop in Massachusetts, 
>later moving to a larger facility which now manufactures Mason & 
>Hamlin pianos.
>
>His first accomplishment (I believe it was a 6'1" grand?) was 
>completed somewhere between 1984-1985. I was beginning my Music Ed. 
>degree at University of Lowell at the time, and became acquainted 
>with his workmanship when he loaned a concert grand to the 
>University-- hoping to get the pianos noticed, and build the 
>business within the musical community.  When I graduated in 1990, 
>the University had purchased one of all three models manufactured: 
>(6'1" in Prof. T. Stumpf's teaching studio, a 7'3" in the recital 
>hall, and a 9-foot concert piano in the main concert hall).  All had 
>one-piece ivory keys, Renner actions, and were rivals to any 
>Steinway that I've ever performed on, or serviced).   I  had the 
>opportunity to perform at the Falcone factory showroom in 1988- 
>along with my piano pedagogy instructor from the University, and a 
>few other select pianists.
>
>  He (Santi Falcone) managed enough financial backing to purchase an 
> old shoe factory on Duncan Street in Haverhill, and continued 
> building very high-quality hand-manufactured pianos (serial #s 
> 1000- 1200) before a need for finances rendered him unable to 
> continue without taking the company "public".  This is when a 
> disasterous blow befell the company.  In need of financing, Santi 
> Falcone was "consumed", by  1% (51% ownership) in 1989 and offered 
> the opportunity by its new owners to remain as a "technician"-- 
> destroying all his dreams of building instruments that rival 
> Steinway, Fazioli, and the other greats.
>
>You may know the name of the people involved in the " takeover"-- 
>The Burgett brothers--renowned builders of Piano Disc. Falcone would 
>never again build the fine pianos that once graced the stages of New 
>England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, The Claremont Opera House, and 
>several Universities and institutions of musical learning.  I wasn't 
>present at the signing of paperwork, I am relying on trade/business 
>magazines, as well as newspapers (which I have retained copies of) 
>naming the Burgetts as the purchasers of the company.
>
>The Falcone name was now 'someone else's' property, and the line was 
>phazed out- with a concentration focused on reviving the Mason & 
>Hamlin line- attempting to build to the original scale designs set 
>forth.  Members of the Boston PTG may remember chapter meetings at 
>the Falcone Showroom near Steinert & Sons-- where the revival of M&H 
>was first introduced??!!
>
>After having built some marginal grands, the name was sold (yet 
>again) and now is made in Asia.  This is a sad footnote in the 
>history of a company that had SO much potential to really give 
>Steinway a serious 'run' for its money. I tuned a 'vertical' falcone 
>(P.S.O.) and was horrified even more than when I tuned a 5'8" grand 
>which is equally inept in design and musical abilities.  It seems 
>now that the name will remain only as that associated with 
>asian-made garbage, and hardly remembered for what Mr. Falcone 
>originally set out to build.
>
>Although I've probably encountered more of these instruments than 
>most, I readily admit that there were some design issues.  Albeit, I 
>will ALWAYS, and do own one.  I still won't regulate mine (#1132) 
>without the supervision of the former quality control manager from 
>the company, who became my mentor as a rebuilder-- long after I 
>bought my piano.  After 25 years as a piano tuner tech., tuner, and 
>rebuilder, I can regulate any piano (Steinways, M&H, Bossen.. etc. ) 
>but truly value the instrument that I feel blessed to own and want 
>to insure that it retains the glorious action that convinced me to 
>trade my Steinway 'A' to get-- amid paying tuition to finish my 
>first degree in Music.
>
>If you have the opportunity to ever meet a REAL Falcone, you'll 
>immediately notice the difference between the it and the stencils 
>now being made.  It is important to know that the real, original 
>pianos have serial #'s of 1,200 and lower- yes, if you were reading 
>carefully, there are only 200 REAL ones.
>
>I gladly welcome anyone within driving distance to New Bedford, 
>Massachusetts to contact me and come play this 
>instrument.  Incidently, I still own an Steinway, and a 1922 
>Chickering quarter-grand with an Ampico (I hope to rebuild soon.... 
>a new acquisition) that I teach on.  I'm not a pianistic snob.  I 
>just love my instrument.  Although I love Steinways, I have a 
>special place in my heart for the Falcone piano! I don't let 
>students touch it.  I use it only for practice, performance, and 
>recording purposes.  Come one, come all players to enjoy a REAL 
>Falcone.  I'd certainly welcome anyone to my shop, and give other 
>techs. a chance to see what a REAL Falcone is all about.  It's 
>nearly 20 years old now, and everything about this piano is as solid 
>as the day that it was delivered.
>
>Respectfully Submitted,
>Marshall A. Connolly, Jr.
>a/k/a/ <mailto:falcone1132 at tmlp.com>falcone1132 at tmlp.com
>Connolly's Center for Piano Wellness
>496 Nash Road
>New Bedford, MA  02746
>(508) 984-0800
>
>To: <mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>Pianotech List
>Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 8:53 PM
>Subject: Re: Question about new pianos
>
>The one Falcone I've encountered offered a less-than-optimal 
>experience from my perspective. Due to numerous unspecified 
>problems, Schmitt Music (large dealer here in Twin Cities) has quit 
>carrying them in favor of resurrecting the Cristofori name, mfr'd in 
>China to Schmitt's specs.
>
>On 3/12/07, RicB <<mailto:ricb at pianostemmer.no>ricb at pianostemmer.no> wrote:
>While I'd agree that a new piano should not have problems of the sort
>you mention,  I dont know if I'd agree with the statement that lack of
>experience with a piano brand, or lack of these being well known to the
>public at large is any dependable criteria for judging the quality of
>the instrument.
>
>I have never run into a Falcone myself.  I remember when they were first
>brought to my attention in the early 90's when I was in Seattle for a
>couple years... they were touted as being the piano to replace
>Steinway.... and by some folks I respect.  Yet, true to form I register
>these kinds of comments and stay open minded both ways... because when
>it comes right down to it,  if yas donts knows yas donts knows.
>
>Cheers
>RicB
>
>
>     My best guess is that you're right - -if the pins seemed loose or
>     jumpy,
>     then they were loose and jumpy. There's no excuse for the pins in a
>     new piano to
>     be this way. In all my years in business - -27 --- I never
>     came across a Falcone piano - -there must be a reason. I guess if
>     the brand
>     were a really good one, it would be popular and lots of people would
>     own them,
>      like Yamaha, Kawai, etc.
>
>     Jesse Gitnik
>
>
>
>----------
>AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's 
>free from AOL at 
><http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/1615326657x4311227241x4298082137/aol?redir=http://www.aol.com>AOL.com.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070313/0f8dd67b/attachment.html