Monday 22 November 2021
Hopkinson Pianos
Wednesday 3 November 2021
John Brinsmead
John Brinsmead began life in rural Devon and among his early ambitions was that of being a farmer! His elder brother Henry moved up to London and began building his own pianos in 1835 and for a couple of years he and John worked together. After a falling out John set up business on his own.
The firm went from strength to strength supported by the factory at Kentish Town and the showrooms at Wigmore Street. Part of the success was due to John’s very close watch on quality control and his knack at self-promotion! This not very ‘English’ trait did not go down well with the likes of Broadwood and Collard. However, timidity does not yield rocketing sales.
1899 Brinsmead became a Limited Company managed by Horace Brinsmead - John’s youngest son. Horace set about modernising the the business and introduced 10 new models by 1900. Alas, another family fall out led to Horace leaving the firm in 1903.
In 1921 the name and goodwill of John Brinsmead & Sons was purchased by Walter Saville of J. B. Cramer. The further production of Brinsmead pianos was transfered to the Saville factory very close by at Castle Road, Kentish Town.
A new range of pianos were introduced with the Brinsmead name designed by one of the Cramer workers. These pianos were the same as the Cramer pianos of the time but had the Brinsmead nameplate.
Walter Saville squired a number of brand names: Justin browne, Metzler, George Russell. In 1964 the whole company was sold to Kemble & Co.
© Steve Burden
Monday 18 October 2021
Young Chang
When in 1985 the Aeolian Piano Company came to an end, Young Chang purchased the rights to use the brand name ‘Weber’ and in the following year established the Weber Piano Company. The practice of using old, respected European-sounding names to increase sales of pianos has been part of the long history of the piano trade. For whatever reason, the Weber subsidiary was sold to Samsung America in 1987.
Needing extra capacity for producing iron frames, Young Chang opened a foundry at Tianjin, China in 1988. The project there was further expanded a few years later when they opened a complete piano manufacturing complex. The Chinese facility allowed Young Chang to start serving the lower-end of the piano market.
Joseph Pramberger, a former head of manufacturing from Steinways joined the company in 1995. He brought many innovations to piano design at Young Chang, including an improved action and an asymmetrically tapered soundboard. The Pramberger Platinum series - incorporating some German action parts from Renner - was Young Chang's top-of-the-models range for three years.
In 2018 Hyundai acquired Young Chang in 2006, renaming the company HDC Young Chang.
Tuesday 18 November 2014
Kawai
By 1935, production reached 85 pianos per month. Due to the War production was suspended from 1937 - 1948. Within ten years of production resuming, Shigeru Kawai, having taken over the business from his father, set about to to be among the first to embrace modern scientific aids and technology to transform the piano making process.
The traditions of philosophy and the joining of mind and spirit, all throw their weight behind the push towards perfection. Kawai pianos have developed their own actions using ABS carbon for some of the action parts. Their painstaking research has been rewarded with a unique result which stands up well to the stiff scrutiny of purists who prefer the more standard and accepted traditionally-made actions.
In 1999, the elite range of Shigeru Kawai Pianos was launched. These extraordinary pianos are built by the best of Master Piano Artisans. These technicians seek to elevate their work - making it more of a mystical quest. The role of Master Piano Artisan is to present the artist with an instrument of inspirational and limitless possibilities.
Having had the privilege of tuning one of these very special pianos, I can only praise the workmanship and acknowledge the pursuit of excellence in piano manufacture. I look forward to tuning many more of them!
Good to know that even the standard range of Kawai Pianos is impressive. They are always well put together and convey the essence of the Kawai philosophy.
Thursday 28 August 2014
Bentley Pianos
Directory of Piano Makers
Pianology
Wednesday 22 January 2014
Piano-making in UK.
We have work to do!
The Piano World
© Steve Burden
Pianology
Wednesday 11 December 2013
Collard & Collard
Directory of Piano Makers
© Steve Burden
Sunday 11 August 2013
Bosendorfer Pianos - The Early Years
There were many piano builders in Vienna in 1828 when Ignaz Bosendorfer began building his pianos. At 19, Ignaz Bosendofer began an apprenticeship with the organ & piano builder Joseph Brodman.
© Steve Burden
Wednesday 24 July 2013
Bechstein Pianos - A short History
Sure enough, at the 1862 London Industrial Exhibition, Bechstein was awarded the English Grand Prix. The pianos were described as "distinguished by outstanding freshness and breadth of tone, quality of play and uniformity of the different registers..."
The Bechstein Piano appealed to the musical elite and to numerous Royal Households. In 1881, a Bechstein Piano was sent to Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. In 1885 what was to become the largest dealership in Europe was opened in London. During the early years of the 20th century the list of royal clients grew to include the tsars of Russia and the royal families of Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Austria and Denmark.
The annual production from the Bechstein factories grew steadily. In 1900, annual production was about 3,700 pianos. By 1910, this had increased to about 4,600.
Bechstein Pianos still have the something of their 'freshness and breadth of tone'! The build quality is legendary and even today, many pre 1900 Bechstein Pianos are thought worthy of total rebuilding. The Bechstein Piano deserves its status as one of the foremost Piano Makers of all time.
Monday 24 June 2013
Tuning a Piano
Back in the 1970s & 80s, before piano tuning aids were widely available, it was not uncommon to meet people who tried, with the help of a book, to tune their own pianos! A few tune-your-own-piano books were written and might still be found in libraries. Hopefully, they are no longer in print! Clearing up the mess after some DIY Piano Tuning sessions were mildly amusing! In one case, the would-be tuner felt the tuning pins were far too tight for him to turn - and so WD40 was used to 'loosen' them up! The sad result was a written off piano! If it were not such a skilled trade, DIY Tuning Books might have become permanent Best-sellers.
Sorry for the quality of the picture - the light was very poor. |
Sunday 3 June 2012
Piano Brochures
Piano makers seem not to care about their pianos once in the hands of the retailer. Pianists are the buyers and users of pianos - if the goods supplied are poor, the demand will soon drain away. In the Piano Trade, we have a lot of work to do!
The Piano World
Thursday 26 April 2012
Piano Makes
The Broadwood name is known only to pianists who probably were told long ago that Broadwoods were the best English-made piano. However, such a high opinion of Broadwood Pianos was not universally held - years ago, I remember an elderly tuner say, somewhat unflatteringly: "Ah yes, Broadwood Pianos! The bass is very broad, and the treble very wooden!"
Even when new, this sort of piano was never brilliant, but clearly, they were built well enough to last a very long time.