Farewell to a Grande Dame

Our piano left today, and it was harder to part with her than I imagined.

Built in 1891 of solid walnut, she had presided over our living room for almost twenty years. I can still remember the day we brought her home. Oh, how excited our 5-year-old twin girls were! They immediately started banging away on the keys with great enthusiasm, until I warned them to be gentle or else it wouldn’t play beautiful music anymore. The horrified response from one daughter, “You mean it will play rock and roll?!?” still makes for a favourite family story.

But as children grew up and left home (our youngest departs in January) our Grande Dame became ever more silent and sad. She was a beautiful piece of furniture (especially when she was all decked out for Christmas), but she was built to make music, and she longed to be more than simply decorative. I felt that longing in her each time I dusted her carved front or moved yet another pile of stuff from her too-convenient surface.

She had some good years left in her, she whispered to me time and again, and she deserved to be played.

She’ll get that now. We found a new family for her, with children who are just embarking on piano lessons. They’ll be so excited when they see her after school today, and she, I think, will be equally pleased to see them.

Farewell, Grande Dame. May you and your new family find much happiness in the music you make together.