Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037

The documentary follows the making of a piano. Its subject is a Steinway concert grand. The instrument is numbered L1037. The account begins in the forest. The work starts with a search for wood. Then come the stages in the factory. The workshop is in Queens. The building takes twelve months. There are twelve thousand parts in the piano. More than four hundred and fifty craftsmen work on it. Every stage is done by hand. The documentary talks with those craftsmen. Their work settles the character of the instrument. What makes each piano its own is looked into. The bond between pianists and their instrument is asked about too. The documentary is an independent production. The journey ends in a concert hall. Ben Niles directed the eighty one minute documentary. It is an American production finished in 2007.