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Note by Note: The Making of the Steinway L1037 (2007)

tomatometer

100

Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 0

No consensus yet.

audience

89

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 365

My Rating

Movie Info

While in the 21st century many musical instruments are mass-produced on an assembly line, at the Steinway Factory in Queens, NY, grand pianos are still made largely by hand, much as they were centuries before, and each piano develops a tonal personality very much its own as it slowly takes shape in the hands of expert craftsmen. Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 is a documentary from filmmaker Ben Niles that follows the meticulous process of creating one of these remarkable instruments,

Sep 9, 2009

Plow Productions

Cast

All Critics (22) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (2) | DVD (1)

Like an elegant set of theme and variations, director Ben Niles' beautiful, probing documentary about music and craftsmanship takes a simple idea and follows it in a number of directions.

May 30, 2008 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
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This narrative gambit allows Niles to score a quiet but stunning rhetorical point: in their meticulous attention to detail, the blue-collar workers who've spent their lives at the plant seem just as artistic as any musician.

February 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
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It's inspirational to watch and listen as the Steinway employees demonstrate with pride their part in producing an instrument that will sell for more than $100,000 and may succeed some of its brethren on the stage at Carnegie Hall.

January 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | Comment
Chicago Tribune
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A modestly scaled but enjoyable documentary.

January 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Boston Globe | Comment
Boston Globe
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A fascinating documentary that more than just piano lovers can enjoy.

December 11, 2007 Comment
Hollywood Reporter
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As a study of stubborn artisanal tradition in the Pro Tools age, Note by Note is a stirring symphony of specialized labor.

November 13, 2007 Full Review Source: Village Voice | Comment
Village Voice
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A cinematic first, a standing ovation by icons for the unsung, working-class heroes who make them look good.

September 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Sly Fox | Comment
Sly Fox

... an engrossing film that makes the process of crafting a piano and the people involved come alive.

June 28, 2008 Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | Comment
culturevulture.net

With its precise editing and thoughtful storytelling, 'Note by Note' is a celebration of craftsmanship - of a piano and of film.

June 20, 2008 Comment
Salt Lake Tribune

Note By Note: The Making of Steinway L1307 doesn't need any cameos by celebrities, musical or otherwise, to hold our interest.

June 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | Comment
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The story of one piano is a microcosm of art, commerce, perfectionism and the American dream in a thorough, but repetitive, documentary.

May 30, 2008 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | Comment
Boxoffice Magazine

Note by Note is a reminder of the deep working class roots of high culture.

February 22, 2008 Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Comment
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Although Note by Note has the qualities of an industrial or promotional film, it also is a lovely and lyrical look at a labor of love.

January 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Comment
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A slimy log dumped into frigid Alaskan waters emerges as the hand-selected Steinway for a world-class performance. A fascinating look at the mini-city within New York City where hand work still prevails.

November 16, 2007 Comment
Monsters and Critics

This unexpectedly charming documentary from filmmaker Ben Niles follows the construction of one piano from the bending and molding of the raw maple that will become the piano rim in workshops of the Steinway & Sons factory in Queens.

November 9, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Infomercials are seldom this leisurely paced or austere.

November 8, 2007 Full Review Source: AV Club | Comment
AV Club
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Note by Note: The Making of the Steinway L1037

"Note by Note: The Making of the Steinway L1037" is a slight documentary that functions as a de facto factory tour as it follows the making of a concert piano from the selection of lumber in Alaska to the finished product at the Steinway factory in Astoria, Queens. Sadly, there is little history(at least, I know how

September 1, 2010
Harlequin68
Walter M.

Super Reviewer

Bleh.

February 16, 2011
adfill7

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 (DE)
  • Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 (UK)
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