Chickering Grand Pianos for Sale & Commissioned Restorations

Commissioning a Chickering – How it works

1. We choose the piano. Tell me the model and size you want. I’ll rebuild a core you own, one from my inventory, or one I locate for you.
2. I rebuild it the period-correct way. Low-compression soundboard, period-appropriate strings and hammers, and the original Chickering action geometry retained — not a modern piano in an old case.
3. You receive a finished instrument. Fully restored, voiced, and ready to play.

Commission timelines and pricing depend on the piano and the scope. Contact me to start a conversation.

Why a Jim Ialeggio Chickering

These pianos are rebuilt to sound like a Chickering, not like a generic modern grand. That means choices most shops don’t make:

• Lightly stressed soundboards. The textural and pitch clarity of a pre-modern Chickering comes from a low-compression, low-stress soundboard with minimal crown.
• Soft, light hammers. Heavy modern hammers can’t produce this tone; I use a very soft Weickert-style hammer.
• Original action, original leverage. Chickering’s Erard- and Brown-style actions are excellent. I keep them and their geometry — pianists routinely say these pianos “play themselves.”
• Period-appropriate strings. Pre-modern wire differed in tensile strength from modern wire; I use Paulello wire chosen to match.
• Obsolete parts, replicated. Action parts for these pianos aren’t manufactured anymore. I have the machinery, the wood stock, and the knowledge to reproduce them — whole hammer-shank sets, or whole actions, when needed.

Hear the result (download high-resolution audio):

• Lulu’s back in town
• Brahms 1
• Brahms 2
• Haydn Sonata