Technical Support
Pianoforte provides technical expertise of an international standard ensuring that Steinway, Boston and Essex owners have their pianos maintained in optimum condition during the warranty period and beyond.
Pianoforte exclusively contracts our technical support to Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos. Ian attended advanced training at Steinway’s Hamburg Factory in 2002 after many years experience in the rebuilding of Steinways and as a Concert Technician. In 2007, Ian attended the prestigious Steinway Academy for Concert Technicians where he trained under Georges Ammann. As Steinway’s Chief Concert Technician, Georges Ammann is a legendary figure in the International piano world, which he travels extensively, preparing Concert Steinways for the great Concert Halls and top International stars. As a graduate of The Academy, Ian belongs to a select number of technicians around the world who have attained this level of specialist expertise.
In their three workshops in Muizenberg, customized along Steinway lines and using exclusively Steinway materials and methodology, Ian and his team of 5 technical staff rebuild Steinways from all over the country, including Concert and Recital instruments for premier performance institutions and professional pianists. They produce a result in keeping with the rigorous standards of 150 years of classic piano building and this expertise makes Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos uniquely qualified in South Africa to offer Steinway owners the highest levels of service and technical support.
Ian’s Senior Technician, Garth Hammer, after 10 years of training under Ian and experience in the concert world, also recently attended training in Hamburg where he completed the Seminar Course under the direction of one of Steinway’s rising stars – Jan Kittel. Stephen Draper, the Workshop Manager of Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos has attended training at the factory in Hamburg.
There are few operations anywhere that can offer this standard and depth of specialized Steinway knowledge, so we are very confident in assuring our clients that their valuable instruments can be maintained to the highest requirements of the product, now and into the future. Ian receives Southern African deliveries of Steinway, Boston and Essex pianos and commissions our clients’ new pianos into service, ensuring that the instruments are in optimum regulation and voicing before handing them over to the owner.
With their expertise, and the use of only authentic Steinway procedures, tools and replacement components, Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos ensures that the performance, integrity and value of Steinway Pianos under their care are never compromised.
Services offered include tuning, voicing, regulation, general repair work as well as installation of the Piano Life Saver System.