The Event of the Year in 1994

LA Times Article by Jill Leovy

For North Hollywood’s Franco and Giovanni Skilan, [left], who restore and repair pianos, the earthquake brought new business. Pianos all over the Valley suffered some kind of damage. “Now,” says Franco, “we work all the time.”

More than anything else, it was earthquake damage that helped make 1994 the busiest ever for Giovanni and Franco Skilan, a father-and-son team who refurbish antique pianos in their North Hollywood studio. The Skilan’s are craftsmen of several generations. Giovanni, the elder, learned the skill from his father in Italy.

In more normal times, the Skilan’s tune pianos and perform delicate restorations. But like country doctors dropped in a war zone, the Skilan’s have adapted to emergency surgery. “There were broken legs, pianos on their sides, damaged finish, broken pieces and chunks of pianos, chimneys fallen on pianos—all sorts of bizarre repairs,” said Franco, the younger of the pair and president of Precision Piano Services.

In the Skilan’s sunlit studio, a radio plays pop songs while the pair toils over pianos dating back to the 19th Century. Giovanni does the stringing, Franco the intricate woodwork. Signed celebrity photos on the wall depict the Skilan’s famous customers – Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example. Repair costs on quake-damaged pianos this year have been as high as $20,000 on one 1892 relic.

On the floor, battered instruments lie on their sides or stand on hand-carved legs, their keyboards removed. Some, including a 100-year-old Steinway made of rosewood, are worth $20,000 or more, but that hasn’t stopped a few customers from abandoning them like puppies. Franco stores these stranded pianos in an adjacent room. It hardly matters, given the new demand. Franco estimates revenues are up almost 20% this year although, since the jobs can take many months, it will be a while before he will realize the benefits. “We work all the time,” he said.