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I'm interested in buying a piano. One of the options I have is an Enzo Hazai. The owner toldme it's an Austro-Hungarian piano about 100 years old with ivory keys. I searched in the web but I can't find any information on this kind of pianos.
Does anybody knows somethig about Enzo Hazai's pianos?
I've never heard of or seen an Enzo Hazai piano. Out of curiosity why are you interested in buying an obscure, out of business brand that's more than 100 years old? Have you played the instrument? If so, what were your impressions? If all parts are original, I would assume that the piano needs considerable restoration to make it 'playable '
Jazz/Improvising Pianist, Composer, University Prof. At home: C. Bechstein Concert 8, Roland RD88 At work: Kawai GX2, Dave Smith Prophet Rev2 16-voice
Are you totally sure about the name? It seems to be a strange mix of Italian (Enzo) and Hungarian (Hazai). It's possible that no one's heard of the maker if that's not actually the maker's name! Could you get a pic of the fallboard by any chance?
I've never heard of or seen an Enzo Hazai piano. Out of curiosity why are you interested in buying an obscure, out of business brand that's more than 100 years old? Have you played the instrument? If so, what were your impressions? If all parts are original, I would assume that the piano needs considerable restoration to make it 'playable '
We can all speculate, but that does not answer the OP's questions. No question: there are a lot of 100-year old pianos which may be obscure to many members such as yourself, but which may indeed be well worth a second look. They might even be quite playable as-is.
In this particular case, the photo shows a Viennese style grand. The ashtrays, Glen, are not ashtrays, they are coasters for candle holders which swivel out from the music desk. The flat surfaces of the modern grand music desk, by the way, are vestiges of the platforms on both sides of the music rack where candles were placed.
Viennese grands have a simple and early style of action, called, you guessed it: "Viennese Action". The touch is light, but the repetition is not great compared to the standard double-escapement actions we are used to today. The hammers have a thin outer layer of chamois leather, the tone is usually thinner and more delicate than conventional pianos. The value of such an instrument is not high, they are often sold to (unsuspecting) non-players.
Enzo Hazai does not appear in the European piano atlas. From this one can deduce that (if this was actually the brand name) they were a small, insignificant maker.
Ivory keys and being 100 years old have very little bearing on the (low) value of such a piano.
I've been busy this months. Finally I got some pictures from the owner. He doesn't know anything further about this piano. In fact he misspelled the brand name, the correct is ELSO HAZAI ZONGORAGYAR.
The owner is asking 12K USD for it, price that I won't pay, I want this piano for restoration just because I like it's style so I'm not spending more than 2-3k USD. I like old pianos but here in Costa Rica its not easy to get one. I'd love to get one like this but in my country, almost impossible.
The pictures do not come through for me. However, the corrected name actually may mean something. I know that Google translations are fraught with problems, but the name simply seems to mean "First Hungarian Piano [Co.]". This name does not show up on the list of the 70 most well known Hungarian pianos, so chances are it is a no-name brand. Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time, and this piano is built in the Austrian (Viennese) Style. I would share your reluctance to purchase at that price. In your situation, you may be forced to bring in a piano from abroad. That makes purchasing much more difficult, to be sure! Best of luck.
The brand name might actually be "Harmonia". This similar piano has "Harmonia" at the center of the fallboard, with "Elso Hazai Zongoragyar" below and to the sides.
By the way, "Elso Hazai Zongoragyar" would be more properly translated as "First Domestic Piano Factory". "Elso" could be translated either as "first" or as "premier", in the sense of "best" or "top-notch".
I'm curious about Jurgen's list of the 70 most well-know Hungarian pianos - I wouldn't think that there'd be that many!
