The Mystery of the Bechstein Piano

By Matthew Schaeffer, Director of Campus Ministry

Master piano restorer Jason Kane fine tunes the Bechstein the day before the Mass of the Holy Spirit.

THE HISTORIC BECHSTEIN CONCERT GRAND PIANO

that lived in Clougherty Chapel was at one time a beautiful instrument. For the last decade, however, it was reduced to little more than a glorified table for sheet music and Mass programs. The reason? It needed work… lots of work. The 100-year-old piano is rumored to have been donated by Bing Crosby, whose son Lindsay ’56†, went to Loyola. It had keys and pedals that would stick, cracking wood and a host of other problems. Without a full restoration, no piano tuner would touch the instrument. There was little interest in undertaking the restoration project because, truth be told, it wasn’t very useful as a chapel piano. The Concert Grand Piano was a behemoth in Clougherty Chapel and the only place where it fit was in the back of the chapel—a problematic spot if the cantor was at the front. So, for many of the Masses that took place in the chapel, singers would be accompanied by a keyboard or guitar. Sadly, despite the pleas of the music faculty, and any pianist who longed to play that concert-quality instrument, the Bechstein sat in disrepair.

In the spring of 2021, Loyola unveiled Caruso Hall, a state-of-the-art, elegant space for myriad events including Loyola’s school-wide liturgies. Soon after its dedication, conversations began about the furniture and equipment that would fill the space. The question of a piano was raised. The previous building, Xavier Center, had a Weber Baby Grand Piano that was donated by a Loyola counselor and lived on the stage. But a Baby Grand would be dwarfed in a massive room like the bays in Caruso. What the space really needed was a full-size Grand Piano.

With the cost of a new Concert Grand easily reaching into the six figures, and not wanting to spend the lion’s share of the equipment budget on an instrument, the conversation quickly turned to the Bechstein gathering dust in the chapel. A proposal was put forth: “What if we move the Baby Grand to the chapel, where it will fit better and be more useful, and get the Concert Grand restored, then place it in Caruso?”

Wheels started turning.

Restoring a concert-quality piano is a lot like restoring a classic sports car. Technology, materials and building techniques have changed over the years. You need to decide at the outset: “Are you going to restore this using original (or as close to original as possible) parts, or will you simply keep the body and modernize everything under the hood?” As we brought in piano technicians to assess the instrument and give us proposals, this question needed to be answered.

When Jason Kane came to Clougherty Chapel to examine the Bechstein Piano, it was like an archaeologist examining a precious artifact. He knew exactly where to find the pegs and hidden bolts to remove the keyboard and

The Bechstein harp waiting its turn to be reunited with the grand piano, bringing it to life. gain access to the hammers. He carefully maneuvered his flashlight and mirror to note where the wood was cracking in the forgotten corners of the instrument. All the while he treated the piano with an almost spiritual reverence. Jason explained that, if we hired him, he would do his best to restore it faithfully to what it was… right down to the color of the felt ribbon under the strings.

He was our man.

Jason and the piano movers came on September 28, 2021 to transport the Bechstein to the workshop. Over the next nine months, Jason sent photo updates of his work which could really only be described as “invasive surgery.” At first the pictures were startling. To see the varnish completely stripped, the body legless and on its side, and the harp removed from the inside—it made you wonder if it would ever get put back together again. But slowly, meticulously, progress was made. By April of 2022, it started to look like a piano again, although still missing keys and strings and by May, Jason was putting the finishing touches on the hammers and keyboard.

The Bechstein returned to Loyola on June 13, 2022, and it was a happy homecoming. The journey from Clougherty Chapel, across Hayden Circle and to Caruso Hall had taken nearly nine months, but it was clear that a profoundly beautiful rebirth had happened along the way. Jason beamed with pride as he opened the lid and showed off his handiwork. When we celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit in Caruso Hall on Friday, September 9, the students passed through academic Gothic arches, modeled after those of Loyola Hall, and light streamed in from windows inspired by those from Clougherty Chapel. But the architecture wasn’t the only marriage of the old and the new. There was a very excited young pianist accompanying the Liturgy Choir on a 100year old Concert Grand, given new life, in a new space.

The Bechstein, a work of art, inside and out.