A short Journal News feature from February 1999 shows John Ford playing a 1909 Steinway grand that his Peekskill shop rebuilt. The Journal News – February 1999 Below, John Ford, owner of Ford Piano Rebuilding in Peekskill, plays a 1909 small grand Steinway piano that......
Peekskill Patch reports on the Antonio Ciacca Quintet concert that opened Italian Jazz Days 2011 at the Ford Piano factory. Jazz artist and Lincoln Center Director Antonio Ciacca and his quintet celebrated Italian-American month with a concert at Ford Piano. By Liz Giegerich – October......
This news report covers John Ford’s plan to buy the former Hermax building at 15-27 South Division Street in Peekskill and turn it into a music hall of about 200 seats for recitals, concerts and dances. A former department store known as the Hermax building......
The Star reports on John Ford’s tentative deal to buy Peekskill’s historic Hermax building for $325,000, the step that would clear the way for a music hall next to the Ford Piano shop. The Star Signs tentative deal to acquire Hermax building. By Brian J.......
North County News tells how Ford Piano grew after it moved from a 5,000-square-foot riverfront shop to a 20,000-square-foot building on South Division Street, where the team rebuilt 40 to 50 Steinway, Knabe and Mason & Hamlin pianos a year. North County News By Jim......
This feature follows four generations of the Fekete and Ford families, from Janos Fekete’s work in Manhattan’s piano factories to John Ford and his sons in Peekskill. Step into the confines of Ford Piano in Peekskill, and the trip from the sidewalk to repair shop......
Rebuilding a fine piano depends as much on who does the work as on the instrument. Here are the questions to ask any rebuilder before you commit....
The Westchester County Business Journal traces Ford Piano from John Fekete’s Manhattan piano shop, opened around 1912, to the Peekskill business John Ford started in 1985. Westchester County Business Journal – April 2001 John Ford started Ford Piano Co. in 1985 in Peekskill to carry......
The Star visits John Ford’s new workshop and showroom in the old McCrory’s building in downtown Peekskill, and his plans to bring concerts there. The Star – January 2001 By Susan Chitwood John Ford has rebuilt pianos for any number of famous professional musicians, including......
In this June 2001 New York Times article, Mark Ferris explains why pianos wear out and how John Ford Jr. rebuilds them from the bottom up, a skill he learned from his grandfather Janos Fekete and his father. The New York Times – June 2001......
The Journal News reports on F-Sharp, the restaurant and music hall John Ford built on South Division Street in Peekskill, in the property that also houses Ford Piano. A worker puts down plywood at the F-Sharp Restaurant and Music Hall in Peekskill. / Photos by......
Peekskill Patch previews the third annual Italian Jazz Days at the Ford Piano factory in 2011, with a look inside the basement workshop where century-old pianos wait to be rebuilt. The third annual Italian Jazz Days will feature the Antonio Ciacca Quintet and a workshop......
Abigail Klingbeil spends a day inside Ford Piano with the tuners and technicians who rescue neglected pianos, from tuning by ear to full soundboard overhauls. Keys to third-generation shop owner’s passion are all in the music Abigail Klingbeil Kim Papa sits near the back of......
This profile of John P. Ford covers why pianos wear out, what a full rebuild involves, and the family history that began with his grandfather Janos Fekete at Steinway & Sons. Music is eternal. Pianos, not so much. “Essentially, pianos are not immortal,” John P.......
This Westchester Magazine profile follows John P. Ford Jr. through the craft of piano rebuilding, from why a rebuild can take up to three months to the player systems the shop installs. Westchester Magazine Discussing Piano Rebuilding with Peekskill’s John P. Ford Jr. is like......
You’re moving a piano and the first branching question is upright or grand. Both need trained movers. They do not ask for the same crew size, equipment, disassembly steps, or path planning—and those differences are the real cost drivers. This comparison stays qualitative on purpose.......
A complete rebuild replaces the pinblock, soundboard, strings, and action to bring a fine piano back to like-new tone and touch. Here is what each step involves....
The Peekskill Herald visits John Ford’s Main Street shop overlooking the Hudson, where more than 30 pianos stood in various stages of rebuilding. Peekskill Herald – February 1996 By Mary Judith Conklin Piano rebuilder John Ford stood in the midst of over 30 pianos in......