World-famous pianist’s magnificent, $200,000 piano dropped and destroyed by movers

In a Berlin recording studio, on a grand piano stretching more than nine feet long, Angela Hewitt wrapped up her latest set of Beethoven pieces for a forthcoming CD and headed to the control room to hear from the producer.

The piano was a beauty, with a black finish so shimmering that you could see the strings and hammers reflected in the raised cover. Handmade in Italy, it was outfitted with a rare fourth pedal invented by the piano maker, Paolo Fazioli, and by some estimates was valued at roughly $200,000.