IT was an uplifting experience when a new grand piano arrived at the Blackburn School of Music.

The Steinway, worth almost £40,000, was bought by the Preston New Road school for students, teachers and visiting pianists to tickle the ivories, but there was just a small hurdle to clear first -- how to get it into the first-floor concert hall.

Music school bosses were forced to take out the window and enlist a crane company to winch the instrument to its new home.

Although wet weather hampered the operation, which took around half an hour, the spectacle still drew a few onlookers.

Specialist removal firm Gilberts, of Manchester, did the honours, with the piano covered to protect it from the rain.

One of the school's directors, David Hewitt, said: "We were very excited about having our new grand piano delivered to our concert hall.

"The only problem was that it was on the first floor, so we had to get it craned in.

"It is the Rolls-Royce of pianos. It is quite an event for us and it will make us one of the best facilities around, although I'm sure they have a Steinway at King George's Hall.

"If you go to any really good venue to hear the piano, there will nearly always be a Steinway."

Although the self-funding school could have picked up an average grand piano for between £10,000 and £20,000, organisers decided to raise the extra cash needed through a series of concerts because they wanted the best. A new Steinway can cost up to £60,000.

The piano was bought in a private sale from a home in Blackburn.

David said: "It wasn't too tricky an operation in the end, but it's in now and it sounds fantastic. It was in a living room before and was a bit wasted, but it's in the right place now. It's such a big piano, and it makes such a fantastic sound."

The school was already prepared for the job of getting it in situ, after going through the same experience when a Czechoslovakian grand was delivered there two years ago.

He added: "We've already done it once, and it certainly caused a stir then. It is quite a thing to see really."

The new arrival will also mean a new venture for the school, as organisers plan to hold master classes, recitals and concerts in the hall.

The school has 378 students, of which around 200 play the piano. All of them could get a chance to play it, as it will also be used for piano exams.