After Nearly 80 Years, Gershwin Piano To See New Life At U-M
ANN ARBOR (WWJ) -- George Gershwin's legacy is his music, having composed some of the most iconic music in American history, including Rhapsody In Blue, Porgy and Bess, and Three Preludes.
Now Gershwin's piano -- long left to disrepair in a New York City apartment -- has been restored. For the first time in decades it will be played in concert Friday evening at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor.
Patrick DeBeliso of Piano Crafters in Plymouth oversaw the restoration.
"The thing was that after he died, the piano really didn't get that much use at that point," DeBeliso said. "It just kind of laid there stagnant and old age took its toll on the piano."
The 1933 Model A Steinway piano sat unused since his untimely death in 1938, but was liberated from an apartment by Gershwin's nephew, Marc. A new soundboard was remade using the original Steinway specs and the action was replaced during hundreds of hours of restoration.
"It didn't seem like it at the time, but now that I look back at it I should have been under more pressure," DeBeliso said. "We've been doing this a long time, so it kind of comes natural for us. You have to make sure that you get everything right, every detail has got to be correct and there's a million little details.
"You have to make sure that everything is historically correct also," DeBeliso said.
The instrument is one of three Gershwin pianos in the United States; the others are housed in the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in New York.
The Gershwin piano is the fourth historic piano to undergo a major renovation at U-M and reside on campus. The piano will be part of the University of Michigan Gershwin Initiative.