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I think people who are so close to classical that they could play such big orchestral compositions are also people who appreciate all subtleties and deepness of real orchestra. So most of them don't even consider playing such performances since for them it's like a profanation. It is for me - her skills are awesome, but I would never pay for a concert to listen to classical played on a keyboard.

I agree - neither would I, but there must be a huge sense of achievement to learn some of those arrangements and enjoy playing them for your own pleasure.

I wonder how many people on these boards play professionally and how many are amateur enthusiasts?

Why would a great pianist want to play an orchestral work on an organ-like electronic contraption when it's possible to recreate the colors of the orchestra with just 10 fingers on a standard piano?

Here's an example of a master pianist at work: Mikhail Pletnev playing his own transcription of The Nutcracker http://youtu.be/trl9T4sbV_c.

Also, have a look at this Adagio from The Sleeping Beauty http://youtu.be/eSQVh3yVfJ4

There is a tradition of this kind of performance through the non-church organ. In fact all organs are a 'band in a box' to a certain extent. You only have to look at church organ's stops to see that. Before electronic synths, organs with their flute, trumpet and viol stops went a long way to giving one performer the power to recreate a whole orchestral piece. But of course it didn't sound much like the instruments it was imitating

It is a very impressive performance that Qi Zhang gives, but I wonder what the point of it is, really. You always seem to get that shiny ice-rink type sheen to the sound and it has none of the subtlety of a real orchestral performance, as KataiYubi has pointed out.

Where the organ really comes into its own is as an instrument in its own right - either as pipe organ or Hammond B3. Same with the synthesiser, really.

....but maybe such an instrument as the Yamaha above would be great for improvisation or - who knows - even compositional ideas....

Not so, TrumpetMan; check the Yamaha website:

http://asia.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instruments/keyboards/electone/

The stagea is ***currently*** available in Asia / Middle East / Africa / Oceania / Latin America.

What's wrong with this picture? If I move to Timbuktu or Baghdad, I can buy a Stagea, no problem. But sorry, I live in Montreal, Canada and so I can't get one.

Thanks btw for the Pletnev videos of his Nutcracker transcriptions. There's a cheap version by Esipoff and Deis (Schirmer) that I "play" (massacre would be a better word), but I would love massacreing it on a Stagea. Imagine how fun it may be to play "The Planets" by Holst on the Stagea with the drum effects, instead of on just a flat standard piano.

Melodialworks, I don't doubt this is indeed the case. However, if Yamaha sells the Stagea in other regions of the world (everywhere except North America and Europe), it means that they are quite capable of adapting their instruments to meet the local electrical standards.

May I remind you the Yamaha also sells other expensive electrical appliances in North America and Europe (digital pianos) and that the very expensive Avant Grand N3 is CSA-approved?

Kitsch, this was the word I was looking for

The reason is not unknown. You stated it in your original post, that Yamaha Canada said that "there's no market for that keyboard".

There is the reason. In THEIR opinion, not a worthwhile item to import. I've read of various Kawai models not being available in all markets, so this is just another example. Yamaha is not small, like Kawai, but the market in Canada is small. In my opinion, the demand in Canada for this type of instrument, given the price, would be very low.

If it is not available in your country then why don't buy from the piano from a Japanese site and have it shipped to you?

You're right. It is totally their privilege if they think that Mali, Laos, Bhutan and Bolivia (all countries in which the Electone Stagea is currently on sale) represent a better market than the UK, the US, Germany, France, Canada, etc (all countries in which the policy is "No Electone for you!")

3 reasons:

A) Fire hazard and insurance.

B) Warranty impossible to enforce.

C) No company is forced to sell anywhere if they don't want to, so it is totally their right to sell to Mali but not to Germany. However, it is also my right to never, ever, give them a single penny for any of their products.

Why would anyone use a car when we can use horses? And those pianos, what a terrible/ridiculous contraption (with a very artificial sound) compared to the good old harpsichord. I am sure no gentleman would ever go hear any concert played on a **piano**!

Was that a Seinfeld reference?

James
x

Any reference to any fictional character is totally fortuitous and unintended.
Soup is not included with that comment.

OK, last post for me in that thread.

I just wish to make clear that my comments here were made to express my personal disappointment at not being able to acquire the Stagea in my home country, and in the hope that some other people in Europe or North America might become aware of that product (Stagea) and express interest to their local retailers, perhaps causing the Yamaha company to reconsider its decision not to distribute the Stagea in the said North American/European markets.

My posts did NOT have any intent to defame, demean or cause prejudice of any kind to the Yamaha company nor any of its affiliates. To the contrary, I described their products as "stunning" and "brilliant".

Nor did I have any intent to discourage anyone from buying other Yamaha products, which are excellent, and should be considered, along with products from other excellent companies, in order to make an enlightened purchase decision.

I'm grateful to you for bringing this up, but it doesn't seem there is a lot of support from members here - and surely if there were to be support from any online community it would be here.

Personally, I would quite like to have a play with one, but wouldn't consider buying one.