{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Piano Tech Radio Hour","title":"Always Strive For Better w/ Thomas Zoells And David Graham","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3695,"description":"In this week's episode, David Graham and Thomas Zoells of PianoForte in Chicago join us. David pays homage to the great Virgil Smith, a renowned piano tuner. The icon of the piano trade still inspires him to this day. Virgil constantly pursued improvement and sought a better way. David would run across people who had studied with Virgil and continued to apply techniques learned for years, only to discover that Virgil's own methods had changed and improved by then. David said of Virgil, \"He picked up the tuning hammer, and if he were still alive, he would still be tuning differently.\"Our second guest, Thomas, previously spent 20 years in the banking industry. Through his banking experience, Thomas learned how to analyze firms' balance statements and identify potentially dangerous situations. Thomas put this knowledge to use once he had a piano store. In 2004 when the piano market was in decline, it was challenging to sell a piano. At this moment, Thomas was cautious and didn't take on too much debt or inventory, which paid off. The piano business is like any other. You've got to manage overhead and cash flow and pay attention to trends. Tune in to learn from Thomas's savvy perspective.Here's a little bit about our guests:Thomas ZoellsThomas and his wife Darcy founded PianoForte Chicago, Inc. and PianoForte Foundation NFP in 2004. Having grown up in Switzerland and Vienna, he had worked for Ingpen & Williams in London, a classical artist agency, but then had a nearly 20-year career in banking. From being a store with only 4 pianos, all of them by Fazioli, PianoForte has grown into the premier downtown Chicago showroom. PianoForte features the full line of Yamaha pianos, as well as a 100-seat venue and recording studio that has become a focal point for small-scale listening and acoustic music recording and streaming. Visit here: www.pianofortechicago.comDavid GrahamHis learning as a piano technician began in a class taught by Robert Carbaugh at Moody. It continued...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/coccGkiaL_EId8bSw0gIyalIKP-KKNEGLsh_ZB4FTng/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/Lzk3MzMvMTY3Njgx/NDI5MC1hcnR3b3Jr/LmpwZw.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}