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Photographing abandoned pianos

More abandoned pianos

Why so many Pleyels?

The photographer lives in France; that may explain the frequency of Pleyels in these photographs.

I have seen a collection of photographs similar to this one, but I don't recall having seen this particular collection of photographs before on PW.

Regards,

In the 5th photo in the first (Italian) set, it looks like the music holder is actually used to prop up the lid on that grand.
Is that how that was set up to function? I "aims" the sound from the strings directly back at the pianist.

That is definitely not how it was set up to function, and I see people doing this a lot when they have pianos for sale. It's such a stupid thing to do because it can crack the music desk. The fly lid is meant to be either fully closed or fully folded back.

The plethora of Pleyel pianos? Pleyel was probably fairly common in Europe, I guess. I wonder if any of these pianos could be saved and restored? Some of them definitely couldn't be, but others look less abandoned.

Most of those just make me sad.

I don’t find these sad at all. They fill me with wonder at the lives these pianos passed through.
The different times, the experiences, the music played, the loves gained and lost. Thanks for posting!

Reminds me a little of Bruno Bozetto's animation of Sibelius' Valzer Triste.

I found all the photographs interesting and intriguing; sad and melancholy to an extent, but also evidence of happier times, and a sense of history and destiny.

What I also noticed is that many of the buildings where the pianos were located were as dilapidated and deteriorated as the pianos themselves. Some likely had a connection, in some form or fashion, to WWII because of the locations of the structures. Not every structure damaged or destroyed during WWII was rebuilt.

In many of the photos, the buildings looked like they were once part of the aristocracy of the times, or belonging to the most elite and wealthy. Common folk, or what we may now call "middle class" folk could not possibly have owned such finery, or castles or mansions, much less the most expensive grand pianos, or even upright pianos of the time.

So, the photos tell a story above and beyond that of fine pianos that were eventually abandoned and left to deteriorate or rot.

Regardless, the photos tell a story of something that was once a grand and glorious lifestyle, but is now in decline, to the point of no return, although there may be exceptions. But if some of these places, and pianos, have not been reclaimed or rebuilt by now, they will likely never be.

Rick

Along with Rick’s thoughts, to me, many of these abandoned pianos, especially those in Poland, Germany, and France are the ghosts from life before during and after both World Wars. Those pianos are still there and although they can’t sing any longer, their condition speaks loud and clear about our inability to enjoy and maintain peace. Beautiful but disturbing.

The pictures are intriguing. I'm getting deja vu because I'm thinking the same things about them (I think they've been linked before).

More than one has the lid propped up in the same odd manner. Perhaps it's the photographer who does it. Some of the pictures seem staged to me. Not to say that they're not interesting. They are. But after a while there's a sort of sameness to them.