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Re: Fresh Buying Experience (Reply to this comment)
by bungiefour
Hi. You sound very knowlegeable about pianos! I enjoyed reading your comments. I would like your professional advice. I am an intermediate level pianist. I play primarily for my own enjoyment at home. I have a 4'7'' baby grand Samick right now, but would like purchase a baby grand with a little deeper tone. I want to purchase, due to space, another piano the same size or a little larger. How do you feel about Kawai pianos? Do you believe they are made better and have a better tone? What is your opinion and do you have any advice you can share with me in purchasing a piano of this size? I appreciate your time. Thank you.
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May 14 '10
8:56 pm PDT
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some good info... and some not good info (Reply to this comment)
by olovell
This buying guide was pretty useful (okay, the Bosendorfer Imperial extra keys issue was resolved in other comments below) and helpful until we reach the last three paragraphs. Also, some of the information is a little dated.
"The Golden Ages of pianos were said to be between about 1890 to 1930 or 40 because at this time, competition was scarce and piano companies built pianos for reputation."
This statement is completely incorrect. Competition among piano makers, particularly in the US, was FIERCE during this period, with literally hundreds of manufacturers vying for a place in the living room of every middle and upper-class household.
With regard to brands, there are more eastern european makers who enjoy a good reputation than this author gives credit, such as Bohemia and Estonia. New Russian pianos aren't really being sold in the US at this time, and the question about the viability of Chinese pianos remains quite contentious; opinions differ markedly about these if you ask a technician, pianist, general consumer, or salesperson.
The total restoration cost of a vintage grand of a decent length is not accurate in today's numbers: Taking a clapped-out Steinway and fully restoring it with all new parts (including soundboard, action, case refinishing, etc.) can exceed $25,000 when done by a first-rate restorer. If you can get the piano for cheap enough pre-restoration, it is indeed a worthwhile alternative to a new one (there is some element of risk involved).
I must disagree with some of the broad-brush statements about the Yamaha action as well. Sorry to be harsh... in other ways this article has good information.
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Dec 08 '07
2:24 pm PST
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Fresh Buying Experience (Reply to this comment)
by tobewiser
Buying a grand piano of any make should start with the very reasons for the purchase. Many inexperienced pianists, having learned to play on uprights and lesser make grands, simply don't know the differences and are not able to make intelligent (much of it gathered from years of playing on a variety of makes) decision. Choices are not about brand names; its all about matching one's playing style and repertoire to one's collective sense of musicality. It's a downright nonsense to think of buying a grand piano as a financial/monetary investment; it's an investment in one's own enjoyment (to the professional players, a vocational tool).
Counterpoints: Estonia grand pianos, made in Estonia, is of exceptional quality and playability at a modest price. The best Chinese made grands have all the brand name parts. What they are missing is the non-mechanical craftsmanship that make a concert grand sound and play like a Bosendorfer or Steinway. Pearl River, the largest Chinese owned maker in the world manufactures Essex (a Steinway brand), Yamaha, and Kawai pianos. It's a testimonial to the Chinese mechanical abilities.
The Bosendorfer Imperial's extra keys are no marketing gimmicks - organ music sometimes calls for this register (the pedals). F. Busoni actually have piano pieces that need these notes, along with a few other famous German romantic composers and pianists.
The concert grands have wonderfully easy actions. The Imperial, being 290cm in length, the keys are long but the pivotal points are so well balanced (like a long seesaw)that pianissimo is equally easy as fortissimo. Shorter grands can't match solely due to physical differences. Grand pianos are not made just to play loud; soft passages (Chopin and Scriabin alike) are magical on them - clarity and tonal warmth (presence of all the right harmonics due to the better quality and larger sound boards.)
I recently chose a Bosendorfer over a close second Steinway & Son (American made). The final choice is about personal taste. It doesn't matter what Horowitz and other famous players played as they had their personal reasons. A buyer should also have hers. It's a bit of a turn off when the Steinway salesman kept referring to the number of famous customers Steinway had. I do find (after 35 years of playing and tuning pianos and with 2 post graduate music degrees) the Bosendorfer grands sound warmer, (e.g., the low notes don't have the copper metallic growl and the highs exhibit non-duplex tuned purity.) I yet to find any competing production models that can match the Bosendorfer's construction quality and finish. The Bosendorfer Renner actions are special and are magical in fff and ppp. (Steinway's own actions are great at fff, and I found after playing Steinways throughout music schools and recently at a factory showroom, ppp is difficult to execute consistently.) Again, it's personal. (As it too was that of Chopin's as he composed on his Bosendorfer.)
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Nov 13 '06
5:15 pm PST
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Some misnomers (Reply to this comment)
by tnmtemerity
Well I did notice some things you wrote which are not necessarily true - First off the Extra notes on a Bosendorfer in fact are said to make the standard bass notes more resonate and there has been music written for them - particuarly by Johan Strauss JR - I believe their website lists compositions written using the notes - also if you look into it I think you will find the Fazioli pianos are not only the longest production concert grand but also have extra notes and 4 pedels (one to move the hammers closer to the strings just like in an upright). Other things you wrote simply don't make sense and are also not true - competition was not scares in the early 1900s it was in fact enormous compared to when the TV and other forms of entertainment took off. Also as for touch - I used to own a Yamaha C3 and now I am restoring a Baldwin E which hasn't been in production since the late 1920's and I can tell you there is nothing at all wrong with the touch of a Yamaha - most pianists would even tell you they love the feel of it - frankly the larger the piano - the longer the strings and hense the heavier the hammer needs to be to strike those strings - that is a primary reason a concert grand will have a heavier touch than a shorter piano. I don't know about Rubenstein but, you can even read in the book written by Horowitz's techniction from the 1960s til his death and he lists quite a few steinways but, he only actually owned one which was a wedding present to him from the Steinway family. Frankly a piano is only as good as its been maintained - I have played on many Steinways which were awlful and I'd bet you'd find the most of the Steinway artists don't even own a Steinway but, they will play them in public because Steinway will furnish them with a voiced and tunned piano for major concerts. BTW if you want to put down Yamahas - I'd suggest you listen to some of Richter's recordings form the late 70's - there is one from the Salzburg festival recorded August 26 1977 where he plays Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin and Frankly - Steinway couldn't have built a more lovely piano than the Yamaha he played that concert on. I don't mean to be rude but it seems to me you are offering no new advice to people and in fact perpetuating some myths about pianos which simply aren't true.
Thomas Martin
www.thomasnathanielmartin.com
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Feb 25 '06
2:04 pm PST
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Czech grand pianos are very good (Reply to this comment)
by grahamstogden
I would like to say that i have tried many Czech grand pianos and find them extremely good, in fact much better than Asian grand pianos or any other eastern European pianos. I would advise Bohemia, Petrof or Klima. I agree with all the other advice though.
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Oct 13 '05
12:09 pm PDT
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