I am the 9th of ten children, in a family of 3 boys and 7 girls. I grew up listening to my older sisters play and sing. One of my sisters played Magdalana (?). She was very good, the piece was fast and there was a key on the bottom hand that clicked when she played it.
I can still hear that click in my mind.
I spent lots of hours practicing on that piano.
I know that my mom learned to play when she was in her 70s. She loved the piano and all of the hours she heard her children play on it. I was kind of surprised that I was the one to inherit the piano when she passed away, and I have spent many hours trying to get some of my former skill back. The piano is a piece of my wonderful childhood home that came to my home. This piano was built in 1912 by Beckwith in Chicago. It is a solid wood, upright piano with ivory keys. It has always had a beautiful tone, not tinny at all. The sound flowed right into my heart.
I am not sure how or when my mother's aunt Sara got the piano, but she gave it to my mother in the early 1940's. I have 6 sisters, that learned to play and when I was six years old I began to play. I am sure my mother was a saint listening to daughter after daughter learning to play. When my mother was in her 70's it was finally her turn to learn to play. The piano stayed in her home until her death in 2001 and was played on by many of her grandchildren. My oldest sister and her husband brought the piano up from Snowflake, Arizona in 2002 or 2003. Our kids refinished the wood of the piano for Christmas. Since it has come to my home my daughter's have played on it and I have grandchildren learning to play on it.
I have loved that piano since I was little.
So many hands have touched and learn from those keys. Helps us to continue the legacy of those keys. With the restoration of this beloved piano so many more hands will be able to learn from those keys. Besides me, my beautiful grand children and anyone who is touched by the music that they learn to play, are the ones who will benefit from a restoration of this great instrument. I think that there has been a lot of character built in the last 112 years that it has been around.
