The 1927 Steinway and Sons grand piano was nearing junk status.
Parts of the piano's case were broken, and the fallboard had holes bored into it. The piano's legs were fractured, along with its pedal lyre. Initials and dates had been scored into its ebony exterior.
Since its purchase in 1927, the piano had resided at Little Rock Central High School, the first year classes were held at the school's now historic site. But the Model A III's powerful tone and warm sound were a memory dulled by time and neglect.
The piano was considered for transfer into permanent storage just a few years ago until Scott Whitfield, choir director at Central High School, stepped in.
Now, the 1927 Steinway grand piano is fully restored and ready for its close-up: a 2 p.m. concert today in the school's Roosevelt Thompson Auditorium. The concert -- a musical legacy of Central High School -- is free and open to the public.
"The Steinway piano is like a Rolls-Royce," Whitfield said. "If you find a 50-year-old Rolls-Royce in a garage somewhere, and if you know how to do all the parts, it'll still run. It'll still serve its purpose. The Steinways are built in such a way that they still retain their inner bones."
When he first arrived at the school 10 years ago, Whitfield thought the Steinway might need just a tuning and a little rehabilitation to become concert ready. But the tuner told Whitfield there was little he could do.
Over the years, Whitfield wouldn't let go of the idea of salvaging the piano. He applied for a grant for the piano's restoration with no luck.
Then he heard in August 2013 about the Tiger Foundation, a nonprofit public charity that supports academics, the arts, citizenship and athletics at the historic school.
The foundation agreed to raise money to pay for the piano's restoration.
"We thought it could be saved and is worth saving," said Julie Keller, a Tiger Foundation board member who headed the project. "It has historical value, but is also a fine instrument that had been terribly mistreated."
In January 2014, Keller called Mike Anderson, the owner of Anderson's Piano Clinic and Discount Music Center in Cabot. Keller knew Anderson; knew that he could restore Steinways like no one else.
Anderson took a look at the Steinway.
"It was in very rough condition, casewise," he said. "It was very obvious that it had been abused through the years. There was a question mark that it could be restored, but we chose to go ahead and take that chance."
What followed was 18 months of work and an approximately $38,000 restoration price tag, which the Tiger Foundation paid.
The Steinway was originally purchased from O.K. Houck Piano Co., which was based in Memphis.
It is thought that classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein once played the piano.
Anderson, who started restoring pianos at 14, calls the Model A III the best Steinway ever produced in its class.
For years, though, the Central High School Steinway had been silent. Anderson's first step was to "check and make sure the case itself [was] not coming apart or deteriorated."
"You got to have something to rebuild," he said.
Seeing that the case could be rescued, he broke down the interior of the piano and got a good look at everything. He saw the task at hand.
The broken legs, the mishmash of replacement parts in the piano's action, the abused case -- all of that would need to be replaced, reconstructed or refinished.
Anderson turned back to the piano's creator, Steinway. The company still produces parts for older pianos, and Anderson started ordering.
"We completely discarded everything on the action, and we went back with authentic Steinway parts only on this piano," he said. "We go with parts that are original to that piano but new."
For the case, Anderson contacted a master piano restorer and refinisher: Uriel Villegas at Uriel's Piano Refinishing in Sachse, Texas.
"He has mastered the blending of stains, woodwork, craftsmanship," Anderson said. "He doesn't just refinish, but he puts that case back like it was from the factory. He did a brilliant job on this piano."
Others also assisted in the Steinway's restoration, including Anderson's wife, Lisa, who did all the keyboard work.
Barry and Phyllis Bradshaw with Bradshaw Piano Service in Conway were part of what Anderson calls "a team effort."
A year and a half later, the restoration of the Steinway was complete.
"The beauty of restoration is restoring the integrity to the musical instrument," Anderson said. "Basically -- and this goes to all pianos -- when a piano loses its integrity to be a musical instrument, it has lost its value. Only restoration can bring the value and integrity back to it."
Once the job was finished, Anderson transported the grand piano from his Cabot shop to Little Rock.
He admits he was nervous transporting it and helping place it back in the auditorium. He didn't want a scratch on the piano.
Through all the jacks and spider dollies, the loading and unloading, and a short elevator ride, the piano survived without a nick or scratch.
Fully restored, the Steinway has been appraised at $80,000. The Tiger Foundation also paid for the construction of a secured room at the school where the Steinway is stored. Keller said there is a "big lock on the door."
"The Steinway's a complete and total transformation in every way -- visually and [musically]," she said. "We appreciate it that we got the full support of the school and the school district. We couldn't have done it without their permission. We're very proud to do it and very proud to support the arts at Central High School."
State Desk on 09/27/2015