Column: The Eaton fire claimed her home, studio and this 'powerful' piece of Oscars history

Six years ago, midway done the 91st Academy Awards telecast, a walnut Steinway and Sons Model B expansive soft took halfway signifier astatine the Dolby Theatre. After being smoothly propelled from the wings, it stood for a infinitesimal alone, its lid aglow with reflected apical lights.

Sharp-eyed movie fans mightiness person recognized it arsenic 1 of the pianos utilized successful that year’s Oscar-nominated “A Star Is Born” and indeed, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga rapidly near their seats to execute the eventual archetypal opus winner, “Shallow.”

It was an affectional precocious constituent of the show, the camera circling the soft arsenic Lady Gaga began to play, past pursuing Cooper arsenic helium joined her connected the seat for the song’s last notes. When the 2 roseate to admit the lasting ovation, the instrumentality stood with them, captured concisely successful each its shining glory.

There is simply a photograph of that show connected Susie Chung’s website. Chung is simply a classically trained pianist with a doctorate successful soft show from USC. For years, she supported her beingness arsenic a pupil and a performer by teaching burgeoning musicians to play the instrumentality she has loved since she was 3 years old.

When she joined Anthony Ho successful 2017, she moved into his location in Altadena, and her imagination of playing and teaching successful a location workplace implicit with a expansive soft came true. In 2019, she added the representation from the Oscars with the note: “Ask Dr. Chung astir her piano!”

The representation is inactive there. The home, the workplace and the Steinway Model B are present gone.

Susie Chung’s imagination of playing and teaching successful a location workplace implicit with a expansive soft came existent successful 2017. Then, past month, the Altadena home, the workplace and the Steinway Model B each burned down successful the Eaton fire.

(Susie Chung)

Chung, Ho and their 3-year-old son, Elias, near their location connected the nighttime of Jan. 7 aft the powerfulness failed. They could spot the glow of the Eaton fire, but it was acold capable distant that they were convinced they were simply exercising caution. They would walk the nighttime astatine Ho’s parents’ location successful adjacent San Gabriel and instrumentality the adjacent day.

Which they did, lone to find rubble, ash and scattered flames. The skeleton of the soft was hardly distinguishable, marked by a metallic sheet bearing the sanction “Steinway” and immoderate scorched metallic strings.

A soft is lone a thing. Chung knows that, and she and Ho are grateful that they and their lad are live and well. Unlike galore of their neighbors, they had a spot to go, and stay, that is welcoming, acquainted and already filled with Elias’ toys. Ho, a machine engineer, did not suffer his concern successful the fire; Chung has begun teaching again.

But immoderate things substance much than others. Some things beryllium heavy successful the weave of a life, a family, a community, a city, a culture. Their nonaccomplishment leaves a jagged spread that whitethorn shrink implicit clip but tin ne'er beryllium mended.

Chung’s walnut Model B expansive soft was 1 of those things and truthful I travel the instructions connected her website and inquire her astir it.

Owning specified a soft became imaginable aft Chung met Ho, a section lad who grew up successful San Gabriel, went to San Marino High and UC Irvine. After helium got his master’s grade successful machine subject astatine Stanford, helium returned home, surviving with his parents portion helium worked and saved. In 2012, helium bought a location successful Altadena, drawn similar galore to the area’s earthy beauty. “It felt similar you were going to camp,” helium says.

Chung works with soft pupil Max Herman, 17, during a acquisition successful San Gabriel earlier this month.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

He and Chung met successful 2016 and soon became engaged. Chung was thrilled to determination to Altadena. Born successful South Korea, she had travel to the United States archetypal arsenic a kid erstwhile her father, a well-known tv host, was sent to UC Davis for English immersion classes, and past for her ain assemblage education. After years of being a student, she says, she embraced stability. “Having a location workplace was ever my dream. Finally I could bash that.”

But archetypal she needed a piano.

The Yamaha upright connected which Ho learned to play arsenic a kid had a bully tone, airy and bright, Chung says, but arsenic a performer, she wanted a expansive piano. She and Ho spent months looking for the close one, an instrumentality with a sound, code and powerfulness that spoke to Chung. An instrumentality that she could play, usage to thatch and unrecorded with for the remainder of her life.

As they tested new, utilized and rebuilt expansive pianos, Chung called a person from USC. Ben Salisbury is elder manager for Steinway & Sons’ performance and creator division.. As such, helium pairs pianos with artists, producers and accumulation designers for unrecorded events, workplace recordings, films and tv series. When the task is over, the instruments are often for sale.

It was a agelong changeable — Chung did not deliberation they could spend a Steinway.

Salisbury remembers the call. “She said she had a terms scope and I told her I would look for a Model B from the ‘80s.” He soon alerted her to a achromatic expansive that acceptable the bill, but Chung did not respond rapidly enough.

“It was sold successful little than a day,” she says. “So I learned my lesson.” When helium contacted her again, astir a brownish Steinway, she dropped everything and drove to the company’s Burbank location.

The soft had conscionable been returned from the acceptable of “A Star Is Born,” wherever it appeared successful the woodsy workplace that Ally (Lady Gaga) shares with Jackson (Cooper). “To acceptable the location, the acceptable manager needed a wood-toned piano,” Salisbury says. “Which is precise uncommon — astir each expansive pianos, including our rental pianos, are achromatic oregon white.”

Steinway & Sons has loaned Chung a replacement soft truthful she tin proceed giving lessons. Families who were besides displaced by the Eaton occurrence person told Chung that being capable to play soft has soothed their children. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

But helium had recovered 1 among the Steinway inventory. It had been made successful the 1980s, and erstwhile it was returned, helium called Chung. He mentioned that the soft had been utilized successful a movie but lone arsenic the crushed it was present available. “We’re manufacturers of philharmonic instruments,” helium says. “We’re not selling memorabilia.”

Chung and Ho retrieve him saying that the soft had been successful a movie with Bradley Cooper but they aren’t definite present if helium mentioned Lady Gaga and they did not cognize the sanction of the movie until overmuch later. It didn’t substance anyway. The infinitesimal Chung sat down to play, she knew this was her piano.

“The dependable was truthful beautiful,” Chung says. “So powerful. It had conscionable the close tone. And I loved however it looked.”

“I was amazed due to the fact that she had not been excited by immoderate of the pianos we had tried,” Ho says.

They bought it that day, paying $32,000, and considered it a wedding contiguous to themselves.

“I ne'er successful my wildest dreams imagined I would ain a Steinway,” Chung says. “I felt truthful fortunate to person specified a beauteous piano, and the abstraction for it — due to the fact that it was big. The second-biggest size aft a performance piano.”

It was truthful large that they had to enactment it successful the maestro suite, which they turned into a studio, moving themselves into a smaller bedroom. “I couldn’t judge it was mine,” Chung says.

Her students, kid and adult, were besides impressed. Though they did astir of their lessons connected the Yamaha, Chung decided she would fto them play the expansive arsenic a reward for learning their pieces and for recitals. “It’s conscionable a wholly antithetic experience. The contiguous dependable is different, the interaction is different, it is much hard to control.”

Susie Chung gives a soft acquisition to 5-year-old Charlotte Huang retired of her in-laws’ location successful San Gabriel.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

In aboriginal 2019, Salisbury called again. Lady Gaga was scheduled to execute astatine the Oscars and had requested the walnut expansive from the film. Salisbury had explained to her squad that the soft was nary longer Steinway’s to lend and offered alternatives. But the prima was insistent.

Chung was honored by the request, which included Steinway’s modular leasing fee, but initially reluctant. Pianos are fragile and she disquieted that the dependable committee would beryllium damaged successful transport. “If you person to repair the soundboard, it becomes a antithetic piano,” she says. “I was acrophobic I would ne'er get my piano back.”

Salisbury assured her that Steinway would determination it, that they would supply a impermanent replacement and that she and Ho were invited to ticker the rehearsal to spot however good the soft was being treated. After a fewer days, Chung agreed. “We went to the rehearsal and it was breathtaking — precisely similar the amusement — and the soft sounded truthful nice. So often they person achromatic expansive pianos and it’s conscionable ‘plink, plink’ but this one…” She sighs, remembering.

After a fewer mishaps — the soft was successful information scratched astatine immoderate constituent — Chung had her soft back, dependable intact. Steinway provided a certificate of authenticity regarding the Oscar appearance, on with a photograph from the performance. Chung framed it and enactment it connected a shelf.

Her students were thrilled to beryllium successful the aforesaid country arsenic an instrumentality that had been to the Oscars (and touched by Lady Gaga) and worked hard to beryllium allowed to play it.

A twelvemonth later, the COVID-19 pandemic deed and in-person lessons were suspended. Chung got large and past became caught up successful the demands of aboriginal motherhood. She continued to springiness lessons, remotely and past successful person, but it wasn’t until past twelvemonth that she began to absorption connected her soft workplace again. She changed the sanction to the Altadena Piano School, made up signs and banners, and, with a twelve students, erstwhile again showcased “Dr. Susie’s” piano, including astatine 2 recitals.

“Everyone was excited and I felt similar I was starting a caller chapter,” she says.

That section ended successful flames. When the mates saw the charred remains of their home, Ho says, it was the nonaccomplishment of the soft that caused Chung to weep. “It was her prized possession,” helium says simply.

When Chung and her husband, Anthony Ho, saw the charred remains of their Altadena home, Ho says it was the nonaccomplishment of the expansive soft that caused Chung to weep. “It was her prized possession,” helium says. (Susie Chung)

“If it hadn’t been to the Oscars, I mightiness beryllium a small little sad,” she says. “Because that made the students truthful happy.”

Mixed with the sorrow is simply a consciousness of guilt. She fears that, betwixt COVID and caller motherhood, she didn’t showcase her soft enough. When, conscionable aft the 2019 Oscars, friends suggested they usage it successful a video to bring attraction to the Lady Gaga connection, Chung demurred. She didn’t privation to brag and she thought she would person a beingness to play and stock the soft that she loved, to archer its communicative to generations of students.

“Now that it’s gone, I consciousness similar I didn’t bash the soft justice,” she says. “I didn’t stock it enough.”

Her hubby mildly reminds her of the joyousness the soft did bring to her students and their parents. How excited they had been to instrumentality pictures astatine the recitals and however galore of them, including those who mislaid their ain homes, person reached retired to her wanting to resume lessons. Some of the displaced students were staying astatine homes with pianos and their parents told Chung that being capable to play has soothed them.

Chung precocious began giving lessons again. After the fire, Salisbury reached retired to archer her that Steinway was trying to assistance its customers arsenic champion they could; they loaned Chung a replacement piano, which present occupies an full country successful Ho’s parents’ house. “They were truthful kind,” she says of her in-laws. “They moved retired each the furniture.”

Chung stands successful the country successful her in-laws’ San Gabriel location wherever she has been teaching since being displaced by the Eaton fire.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Chung and Ho person security that covers the location but thing inside, truthful she is precise grateful to Steinway, conscionable arsenic she is to a section religion that has offered her a teaching gig, and the Colburn School, which gave her entree to a signifier room, arsenic good arsenic friends who person referred caller students. Ho’s sister started a GoFundMe for the family, who program to rebuild their location arsenic soon arsenic they are able.

Chung is besides grateful that, acknowledgment to “A Star is Born” and the footage of the “Shallow” show from the Oscars, she tin inactive spot her soft erstwhile she tin carnivore to. But tears inactive travel erstwhile she speaks of it.

“I consciousness truthful atrocious for the piano. That I bought specified a cleanable instrumentality and it had specified a bully communicative and I didn’t springiness it enough,” she says. “I thought it would beryllium determination forever.”