On Sept. 27, 2006, the music died at PianoDisc, an international firm that retrofits household pianos to play grand concerts – all by themselves.

In the predawn hours that day, a raging six-alarm fire destroyed the high-tech firm's Natomas headquarters, burning 100 pianos and causing $15 million in damage to its inventory and the building.

"Standing outside, it looked like it was over, like we were sunk," PianoDisc Executive Vice President Tom Lagomarsino recalled Tuesday.

By sunrise, with firefighters still on the scene, Lagomarsino had resolved that PianoDisc would rebound.

And it has. PianoDisc, which operated out of another Natomas building while its old home was rebuilt, returned to 4111 North Freeway Blvd. this spring.

"It was a very difficult time, from the fire until we moved back in," said Mark Burgett, PianoDisc's technical engineer. His brothers founded the company in 1988.

"Our temporary location wasn't big enough," he said. "It was cramped – and most of it had no air conditioning or heating.

"I feel really good to be back" at the rebuilt 49,000-square-foot site, Burgett said.

During the rebuilding, PianoDisc continued to sell its products. Gross sales totaled about $16 million in 2007, with another $7 million from Mason & Hamlin, its Massachusetts piano factory.

With computerized PianoDisc technology, these pianos, too, can be programmed to play Vladimir Horowitz, Peter Nero or hundreds of other artists in all music genres.

"The piano is the grandest of musical instruments," Lagomarsino said. "So, with our products, you have a live performance with some of the world's greatest pianists on your own piano."

The PianoDisc devices, costing between $6,500 and $20,000, are ever-evolving to keep up with today's fast-paced technology. Whether played via wireless Internet or through other programs, including an iPod, each PianoDisc performance is driven by solenoids planted under a piano's 88 keys. The electro-mechanical system receives signals to stroke each key with just the right nuance.

PianoDisc owes its comeback partly to a solid insurance policy that covered its losses from the blaze. The cause of the fire remains undetermined, according to the Sacramento Fire Department.

The firm also enjoyed a bit of luck. In late September 2006, it had been scheduled to receive a $500,000 shipment of products from its manufacturing plant in Shenzhen, China.

"The container full of merchandise arrived the very morning of the fire," Lagomarsino said. "We unloaded it and immediately shipped the items to our dealers and distributors."

When the fire broke out, PianoDisc had about 110 Natomas-based workers. Some of them worked from home during the rebuilding.

Today, about 80 people work at PianoDisc Natomas.

"Our business has been affected by the sluggish economy, because luxury items don't have the demand they did two or three years ago," Lagomarsino said. "Therefore, we had to downsize to an extent."

Before launching PianoDisc, brothers Kirk and Gary Burgett operated Burgett Pianos, a small piano retail store in Grass Valley.

"In 1979, the two had decided to start a business together that would take advantage of each one's talents and interests," according to PianoDisc's Web site.

"Gary was a pianist and music teacher … and Kirk was a skilled piano technician and rebuilder."

They opened PianoDisc in 1988 on Marconi Avenue. In 1993, they purchased and moved into half of a one-story warehouse and office facility at the North Freeway Boulevard location.

The 100 pianos lost in the 2006 blaze could not be replaced. Most belonged to third parties who were awaiting installation of PianoDisc systems.

PianoDisc rebuilt its section of the warehouse building at a cost of about $3 million.

A firewall at the building's center prevented the spread of flames to the other half of the building, although a small portion of it sustained smoke damage, PianoDisc officials said. That half of the structure is occupied by business and church tenants.

"The configuration (at PianoDisc) is the same as before," said Alicia Moniz, the architect who oversaw the reconstruction of the fire-charred business.

"Most of the improvements are in the interior," she said.

The PianoDisc headquarters includes a studio with three concert grand pianos, where artists record music. Down the hall is a showroom, where wholesalers listen to pianos with the latest PianoDisc gadgets.

In addition to its manufacturing plant in Shenzhen, PianoDisc also has a branch in Beijing and a European sales and distribution center in Nuremberg, Germany.

Call The Bee's Edgar Sanchez, (916) 321-1088.