Markson Pianos: components of a piano shop

Founded in 1910 by Louis Markson, a tuner and repairer from Hull, family is key to Markson Pianos. The longstanding business is partnering with mushRoom, providing hosts with discounted services on piano tuning and rental. We head to central London to get to know them better and are greeted warmly at the door to the showroom by Simon and Noah, the third and fourth generation of the bustling shop, which can be found next to Regent’s Park. We soon learn, however, that it does much more than sell pianos.

Noah: “As a business, we cover every aspect of the instrument, which is quite unusual. Customers can come to us for piano repair, rental, tuning, restoration, transport and storage. We also hire pianos for events, but that has dipped since covid, unfortunately. We used to have about 1000 concerts and events a year, but it is now around 300, would you say?”

Simon nods, seemingly unperturbed by the challenges that all specialist businesses have faced since 2020. We weave in and out of grand pianos, some shiny black, some mottled brown  – “it’s like Jenga!” – and pull up padded leather stools to sit on.