http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013...100_years.html
News / GTA
Toronto piano shop Paul Hahn & Co. celebrates 100 years
Many famous fingers have tickled the ivories of the pianos bought, sold or given new life at the venerable Toronto shop, Paul Hahn & Co.
.
RANDY RISLING / TORONTO STAR
By:Wendy GillisNews reporter, Published on Fri Mar 08 2013
On Nov. 4, 1957, Paul Hahn Jr. pulled out his ledger and carefully penned the sale in black, curly lettering. “Piano: Chickering Grand. Customer: Glenn Gould.”
Many famous fingers have tickled the ivories of the Heintzmans, Steinways, Bosendorfers and the multitude of other pianos bought, sold or given new life at the venerable Toronto shop, Paul Hahn & Co.
Gordon Lightfoot gave a concert in the showroom. Jazz great Mel Tormé was rumoured to have adored the 1896 black Steinway now sitting in the basement. Burton Cummings, songwriter Daniel Lanois, and Bob Ezrin, who co-produced The Wall, are among the notable names who have made music with what comes in and out of this Rosedale institution.
“If they could talk. . .” said store manager Jeremy Elliott, motioning to the warm brown or pitch black pianos crammed into the basement, all in various stages of restoration.
Played by prodigies or beginners, passed down through generations or moved across continents, pianos are just as much about the stories as the music, the Hahn family has learned.
“Talking to people about their pianos, very quickly the discussion moves away from the piano,” said Elliott. “It swerves into a narrative. They’ll tell you a story about it.”
After a century in business, the shop is entwined in so many lives.
The business was established in September 1913 by Paul Hahn, a native of Reutlingen, Germany, and one of 17 children. He moved to Canada with most of his family in 1888.
After years of working at the Nordheimer piano company, Hahn — a Toronto Symphony Orchestra cellist — opened his own shop at Yonge and Bloor. He sold pianos as well as sheet music and gramophones.
The shop weathered the First World War, but the Second World War hit the business hard due to Hahn’s German name.
“He was grateful for anybody who did business here,” said Alex Hahn, Paul Hahn Sr.’s granddaughter and now president of the business.
In the 1950s, the store was forced out of its location to make way for the subway. It’s now in a red brick building on Yonge, just north of Rosedale station. The basement was dug by Paul Hahn Jr. in the 1980s.
Paul Hahn Jr. took over the business in the mid-1950s, and the store became increasingly known for its tuning and repair services as well as sales.
While in university, Alex began working some evenings and weekends. She took over in the late 1990s, becoming a third-generation piano retailer — a rarity, given the decline in piano production.
Indeed, the golden era for fine pianos is generally considered to have been between the 1900s and 1940s. Production peaked in the 1920s then declined, thanks in part to the Great Depression and reduction in demand.
The store’s focus on repair — the business refurbishes pianos dating back to the late 1800s, and specializes in early 20th century Steinways and Heintzmans — has gotten them through leaner times, Alex Hahn said.
An intricate process, piano restoration can involve everything from redoing the wood finish (the store specializes in a hand-rubbed satin lacquer finish) to overhauling the instrument’s complex interior. That can include duplicating and replacing the pin block, one of the most important parts of the piano which must hold dozens of tuning pins tightly to keep the instrument sounding harmonious.
The shop employs tuners who travel around the city and three technicians who restore and refinish pianos in-house.
On a recent visit, the showroom had 17 refurbished vintage pianos, selling for between $25,000 and $65,000 (for a Steinway Grand). They do not have any new pianos for sale, and have never sold electronic instruments.
Alex Hahn said she couldn’t wrap her head around selling electronic pianos when they are constantly improving, making the older versions less valuable.
And while many good quality pianos are being made today, she said she sees more value for the dollar in a vintage instrument. A refurbished Steinway — the Rolls-Royce of pianos — costs about $40,000, but about $60,000 brand new.
Properly refurbished, a 100-year-old piano can live another 100 years.
“These pianos here, they hold their value. We believe in these. Show me a finer piano than a 1920 Steinway, or a Canadian-made like Nordheimer or Heintzman,” she said.
The store has also thrived thanks to its above-and-beyond personal touch. Two years ago, after becoming frustrated with the piano movers she hired, Alex Hahn personally drove three pianos down to the U.S. — two to Florida, one to Tennessee.
In one way or another, the shop has left its mark on music lovers and their instruments.
They have long since been leaving a “Paul Hahn & Co.” marking on the instruments they restore. Every piano refurbished this year gets a special centennial decal — something that will in turn be integrated into the piano’s narrative.
100 year old piano store in TOronto
