1. August/September 2010
In Tune
Cuba’s ageing pianos are finally getting some long-overdue attention thanks to an Irish
initiative.
By Shurna Robbins
In a New York studio, Cuban master pianist Bebo Valdés strikes the keys with a
dramatic note, then speeds into an upbeat Latin tempo as his son, Chucho Valdés, sits
at a facing grand piano, blending in with improvised harmony.
At 92 and 69, they are both seasoned and tested musicians, both having earned multiple
Grammy awards. But in the studio, that is all background as they play in the moment,
each note a tender conversation, reminding listeners of the sweetness of living that is
the trademark of the tropical island nation of their birth.
Caught in the grips of a 50-year-old US embargo, Cuba’s pianos, some nearly 100 years
old, have been slowly rotting away. The humidity and hurricanes have done their share
of damage. The piano hammers have hardened. Wires have snapped. Piano keys have
gone missing.

2. Unlike vintage American cars, which have been lovingly maintained for five decades with
Russian parts and a bit of Cuban ingenuity, it’s impossible to substitute other parts in a
piano. In fact, many parts must be made with specialised equipment, which does not
exist in Cuba, to fit the original piano.
The few trained piano tuners and technicians still young enough to work struggle with a
few basic tools and scarce parts, and many have not had any training in decades. The
national piano workshop in central Havana is dusty and dark, lacking proper equipment,
ventilation, electricity and running water.
In this environment, Irish piano tuner Ciaran Ryan travelled to Havana to volunteer his
technical skills at a music school in 2006. That experience led him to work on a far-
reaching, ambitious project: training Cubans and rebuilding the infrastructure for
restoring the country’s pianos.
“Pianos are dependent on tuners,” says Ryan. “Because the strings are brittle and worn,
the pianos in Cuban music have a very bright sound.” A bright sound lacks the depth
and range of a fully-tuned piano.
Spearheading the Irish-Cuban piano project, known as Una Corda (a grand piano’s soft
pedal), Ryan has made numerous trips to Havana, assessing the state of pianos in
music schools, churches and other institutions, and the abilities of the various tuners and
technicians. He also organises training workshops for long-time and aspiring tuners-
technicians alike, according to their abilities, and gets basic tool kits in their hands.
It has been a slow, painful process hindered by the sluggish bureaucracy that permeates
government; language barriers and differences in work attitudes and the fact that
inventory tends to go missing in Cuba. Ryan, however, is in it for the long haul. “Poco a
poco - bit-by-bit,” he says.
Setting up the courier programme with Irish tourists on their way to Cuba has become an
integral part of the project, sidestepping some of Cuba’s problems of unreliable postal
service and disappearing inventory.
Tuner-technicians send messages to Ireland regarding parts or tools that are needed to
repair a specific piano. The goods are bought and sent in the luggage of the next Irish
tourist heading to Cuba on holiday. Una Corda has worked out a system with the Cuban
government to allow Irish tourists to bring in the parcels for the piano workshop, so it is
all above-board.
In three years, some 250kg of tools and parts have been transported in Irish tourists’
luggage to the piano workshop.
“We buy a set of a hammers for a particular piano, put them in a clear plastic bag, label
it, weigh it, declare its value. We give it to a tourist with a map of the area and the name
of the workshop. The tourists love it.”
“The Irish traveller has something to do and it’s a little adventure to find the workshop
and deliver the package,” says Ryan.
At first glance, the Irish-Cuban connection would seem to be an unlikely alliance. There

3. is no similarity in culture, language or geography. But beneath the surface, there is a
connection that bonds these two places.
Both countries have a musical culture that reaches far above their population base and
has influenced genres across the world. The Irish show River Dance, ballads and folk
music, rumba, mambo and son of Cuba have resonated around the world.
And both have been on the outside with a politically powerful country: Ireland with
England and Cuba with America. So there is a lot of sympathy in Ireland for Cuba.
In Havana, there is a sense of hope and excitement in the voices of Cuban tuner-
technicians. Ryan and the Una Corda project have reinvigorated pride in a profession
that had long been in a state of decay.
On a recent trip to the piano workshop, Ryan talked with workshop manager Ernesto
Ortiz about a 1930s American grand piano. It needed some parts and a restoration job,
but it is structurally sound and could perform well for many more years. Arrangements
were made to send a container with base string equipment and a van for transporting
pianos from the schools to the workshop for repairs.
The container will also ship building materials to refit the entire workshop with new
wiring, air-conditioning, plumbing, running water and security. The Cuban government
agreed to provide the workers to refit the workshop.
Also in the works are arrangements for bringing two tuner-technicians to Ireland and
England for six months to do advanced training. The two men will work alongside top
professionals in Galway, Cork, Dublin and Somerset on recording, concert and touring
pianos, as well as in music schools and broadcasting facilities.
Ortiz and aspiring tuner Alexis Sanchez have been selected to participate in first
intensive training programme in Ireland and England. Ortiz has been working at the
workshop for many years, and Sanchez has been developing his experience at a
musical conservatory for children. But for Sanchez, being selected for training is
particularly meaningful. His mother was a blind piano tuner for over 30 years.
“The piano for the Cuban musician is essential because every musician in Cuba must
first learn to play the piano,” says Sanchez. ”Learning to play the piano develops his
hearing skills and all the knowledge that he needs to play Cuban music and international
music with our style.”
Given that it will be the first time Ortiz and Sanchez have been outside of Cuba and that
there will significant differences in language, culture, climate, Ryan expects that they will
need to be looked after a bit.
But there is a lot of excitement in Ireland surrounding the arrival of these two men. Many
people have been working on the Una Corda project to raise money, in addition to the
numerous Irish travellers who have delivered packages.
This is just the beginning. Una Corda will host two tuner-technicians for intensive training
for each of the next five years.

4. Also generating momentum is Chucho Valdés, who has thrown his support behind the
project and become the official Cuban patron of Una Corda. Valdés plans to release an
album under his Comanche record label from two concerts he played in Cork and Dublin
last year.
At a music conservatory for children in Havana, Sanchez inspects the hammers in a
piano in a practice room. Piano music rings out from the room next door. In the courtyard
outside, children practice notes on the flute and saxophone.
In music schools across Cuba there are many children who have the talent to become
the next Chucho Valdés, according to Sanchez.
“They are many, many Chucho Valdés. Even better than Chucho. But we need these
kids to keep studying on good instruments.”