Creative Destruction: Acoustic Pianos, R.I.P.

From yesterday's NY Times, comes an excellent illustration of the economic concept of "creative destruction," which has been described as the "accumulation and annihilation of wealth under capitalism."  In this example, it's the acoustic piano that is literally being annihilated in many cases, as older used pianos are increasingly being discarded in dumps around the country, or even burned for firewood.  As a pianist, piano technician, and owner of a 1918 Steinway Model O grand piano, it's kind of a sad, but inevitable ending for many magnificent instruments that were produced in large numbers by a  once-thriving American industry that supported hundreds of American piano manufacturers and more than a thousand piano brands, including many "stencil pianos" (different makes of pianos produced by the same factory).

Here's an excerpt of the article:

"In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before radio and recordings, pianos were the main source of music, even entertainment, in the home. They were a middle-class must-have.

So from 1900 to 1930, the golden age of piano making, American factories churned out millions of them. Nearly 365,000 were sold at the peak, in 1910, according to the National Piano Manufacturers Association. (In 2011, 41,000 were sold, along with 120,000 digital pianos and 1.1 million keyboards, according to Music Trades magazine.) 

The average life span rarely exceeds 80 years, piano technicians say. That’s a lot of pianos now reaching the end of the line. 

The value of used pianos, especially uprights, has plummeted in recent years. So instead of selling them to a neighbor, donating them to a church or just passing them along to a relative, owners are far more likely to discard them, technicians, movers and dealers say. Piano movers are making regular runs to the dump, becoming adept at dismantling instruments, selling parts to artists, even burning them for firewood."

Accompanying the article are the video above and this slideshow see first slide below).