WELCOME
I hope over the following pages you will get a full insight into the services I can offer.
I am an independent Steinway & Sons trained Piano Tuner/Technician specialising in the servicing, rebuilding, tuning and toning of fine German grand pianos, and with 40years experience you can be assured of the highest levels of craftsmanship. Based in south London I am available for work throughout the UK and internationally. Please contact me if you have a Steinway grand piano for sale, I always have customers who want good Steinway pianos.
My work as Piano Technician
My work as a piano technician includes all aspects of piano servicing, from tuning and check-over, to servicing on site, which can be between one and five days, and full grand piano restoration at the workshop, which is around four to six weeks work. Re-polishing can also be arranged.
I am resident technician at London’s Henry Wood Hall where I look after the Steinway concert grands which are used by visiting artists and all the major orchestras on a daily basis for recordings and rehearsals. The newest Steinway D here No 501630 from 1986 has been used on many recordings for EMI, Sony, Hyperion, Deutsche Grammophon and others. We also have the use of a 1935 Steinway D restored by me which is something a little different from a new piano, a different vintage. I’m also service contract holder at Trinity Laban conservatoire and also worked for twelve years at London’s Southbank Centre backing up and standing in for the contract holder in the preparation of their fleet of Steinway Ds. Concert and recording work consists largely of fine tuning and voicing checks and occasional adjustments to refine regulation. It’s all about keeping the pianos working at their optimum.
I try to keep a small stock of very carefully selected Steinway grand pianos for sale. Please see the Steinway Piano Sales page.
Some of the venues I have worked
- Henry Wood Hall, London
- South Bank Centre, London
- Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama
- Blackheath Concert Halls
- Royal Northern College of Music
- Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
- Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
Steinway Piano Sales
Piano Restoration / Servicing
Piano Tuning Toning / Voicing
BLOG
Steinway’s at Henry Wood Hall
Restoration of a Steinway B
Rebuilt Steinway B For Sale
Steinway D at Henry Wood Hall
Testimonials
Over many years I have sought a piano technician who really cares, who can fix those little niggling problems, who can advise on piano mechanics and the possibilities of improvement in my pianos – and who will tune them as perfectly as it is possible to do it. To find all these skills in one piano technician is very difficult but Iain Gordon has them all. He is totally reliable, thorough, patient, passionate about the subject – something we all share as musicians – and brilliant.
His charges are reasonable and certainly justified – and his aftercare is second to none.
I would not hesitate to recommend his services to anyone with a piano they love and use. Iain Gordon can maintain it to its highest potential.
John York
I had always dreamed of owning a Steinway baby grand, but never believed that it would be possible. Iain helped me through every step of the way, from searching all the pianos at the piano auction, finding a perfect Steinway for reconditioning that I would never have spotted and then working with the french polishers to transform it into the most stunning piano. It is beautiful to look at and unbelievable to play. The transformation is amazing. I still pinch myself that it is mine and thank Iain wholeheartedly for his help. I could never have chosen this piano without his help.
Karen Hack
Iain more or less chose our piano for us – we just knew we had to have it when we saw the way his eyes lit up when he found it in the auction showroom. By that point, he had spent over a year accompanying us to auctions, searching for a good second-hand Steinway Model B; in the showroom, he would surreptitiously whip out his screwdriver so he could inspect the inner workings of a prospective instrument. They were usually marred by the sloppy restoration work they’d been subjected to over the years – restoration work that certainly hadn’t been up to Iain’s high, high standards.
After we bought the 1968 model he found for us, he took it to his workshop to begin an extensive top-to-bottom restoration. This is where his dedication to his craft truly shone through. Every little detail received the utmost care and attention, from re-varnishing the soundboard, to restoring the plate bolts’ mirror shine, to the hours and hours he spent adjusting the keys and action to suit my preferences. The months of work he put in demonstrated not just his decades of knowledge and experience, but his true love for the art of piano building.
After the restoration, the finished instrument looked brand new – but it had the playing characteristics of an instrument from one of Steinway’s golden eras. It is probably the best piano I have ever played, and it entirely owes its second life to Iain. I cannot recommend his services highly enough.
