NOTE BY NOTE - THE MAKING OF STEINWAY L1037

DOK.FEST 2008, loved by the audience!

The art of making music, the creation of musical instruments: from the timber yards of Alaska to the showrooms of Manhattan, we follow the 12-month-long production process of the world-famous Steinway L1037 grand piano. A marvel in our age of mass production, the making of this meticulously crafted instrument involves 12,000 parts and 450 highly skilled workers, from "belly makers" to fine-tuners.

In the Steinway factory in Queens every tiny detail is attended to by the craftspeople who describe with great pride the traditional processes that have changed very little in the 150-year history of Steinway & Sons. Each of their concert pianos is unique with its own distinct personality and sound. Featuring interviews with world-class musicians, such as Hélène Grimaud, Lang Lang, Hank Jones, Harry Connick Jr. and Kenny Barron, Note by Note reveals the complex dynamics involved in music: the relationship between musicians, instruments and the people who make them. As director Niles puts it, the film "infuses personal stories with the instrument's, treating them as one in the same."

"Essentially, we build the piano exactly the way we did a century ago." (…) "Of everything we produce in the world these days, I can think of nothing that has remained so conservative, so unchanged." Franz Mohr, former Chief Concert Technician at Steinway.

"A distinct pleasure ... an engaging and instructive glimpse into a world of artisans and artists." Tim Page, The Washington Post

Award: Best Documentary, Sarasota Film Festival 2007

http://www.notebynotethemovie.com/