Showing posts with label grand pianos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grand pianos. Show all posts

Saturday 16 November 2013

Top Piano Manufacturers

The top piano manufacturers like Steinway, Bluthner, Bechstein, Fazioli and Bosendorfer have established their well-deserved reputations by continually building great pianos. They use the best materials and production methods available and go about the business of building a piano using the unique traditions handed down by their founders as the basis for their pianos. The finished product is an inspiration for any pianist!

In any year, a manufacturer can produce thousands of the same model of piano, but no two of them are exactly alike. A particularly good piano will command a lot of interest and mysteriously, pianists will select it from among others to use for a recital or recording. 

There are plenty of superb pianos makers that would not be listed in the Super-League of Piano Manufacturers, but whose pianos are superbly put together and reward their owners with faithful and ruggedly reliable service year after year.  

In days of old, piano makers used to categorise the various sizes of a grand piano by giving names to the different size-groups, e.g. boudoir grands, semi-grands and cottage grands mini grands. All these charming names, seem to have had precise meanings when the pianos were sold originally, but now, these meanings are not so clear and certainly, the top manufacturers ordinarily categorise grand pianos by size.

The pianos from the top manufacturers will always be expensive to buy, and will need plenty of tuning to keep them sounding good. Most people manage to come to terms with the best of what their own piano can give. But, dreams of one day buying a Steinway or something similar is not so out of place. Ah! One day... 

© Steve Burden 

Monday 28 May 2012

A Strange Fondness for Old Pianos

There is a strange fondness for old pianos among many who set out to buy an inexpensive piano for that corner spot in the front room. The thinking seems to assume that if it is old, whatever the maker's name on the front, it has to be a good piano. 

Old pianos do have a charm about them, their looks, proportions, the ivory keys (if present and in good condition) will give out a sense of nostalgia - and you might even hear a whisper in your ear saying, "This is how pianos were made in the golden age!" 

But 80 years on, many of the original qualities have drained away - slipped like sand through the hourglass of time. What remains is something in need of massive investment or replacement.

Of course, there are exceptions. It is remarkable when you come across a piano 100 years old or more, which has been miraculously preserved - perhaps because it has only ever been played by the tuner who calls every now and then. Examples of pianos with no wear and tear are extremely rare and, when met with, have the air of sad neglect or at least, the vibe of a life not lived. Likely to be valued more as a treasured family heirloom than a musical instrument.

Major rebuilding work on a piano is hugely expensive. Unless the piano is one of the very top makes, the repairs will cost far more than the piano will ever be worth. 

If you need a reliable piano - able to function properly and stand in tune, do not buy an older piano, even if it is pretty! Buying cheap - only to find you have to spend serious money to bring it into reasonable playing order is just an embarrassing waste of money!

Some technicians love older pianos but as a rule, I always think old pianos can never perform as well as a piano half its age. 

When buying a piano, try to get some advice and buy the youngest, most up-together piano you can find. Please do not be hoodwinked by the 'strange fondness for old pianos!'


The Piano World

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