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Steinway fans will surely continue to watch and worry, but they may take some comfort in this: Paulson promises not to change the piano that they love. He simply wants to sell more of them.
This is the most important sentence of the article.
Perhaps they will succeed, but hardly here.
70% of Steinway's growth right now appears to be in China.
Steinway fans will surely continue to watch and worry, but they may take some comfort in this: Paulson promises not to change the piano that they love. He simply wants to sell more of them.
This is the most important sentence of the article.
Perhaps they will succeed, but hardly here.
70% of Steinway's growth right now appears to be in China.
And they're all Hamburgs...
Norbert
But I thought this was the most important sentence... "panicked piano lovers have taken to the forums at Piano World, a large online community, to express their dismay." :-)
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Steinway fans will surely continue to watch and worry, but they may take some comfort in this: Paulson promises not to change the piano that they love. He simply wants to sell more of them.
This is the most important sentence of the article.
Perhaps they will succeed, but hardly here.
70% of Steinway's growth right now appears to be in China.
And they're all Hamburgs...
Norbert
But I thought this was the most important sentence... "panicked piano lovers have taken to the forums at Piano World, a large online community, to express their dismay." :-)
No. The most important sentence was "Steve Cohen, a piano dealer and consultant to piano manufacturers, told me that some Steinway fans would have preferred a different buyer."
[Perhaps it all depends on perspective!]
Piano Industry Consultant
Co-author (with Larry Fine) of Practical Piano Valuation www.jasonsmc@msn.com
Contributing Editor & Consultant - Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer
Retired owned of Jasons Music Center Maryland/DC/No. VA Family Owned and Operated Since 1937.
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
I just watched the Alice Sommer video; she is a wonderful person.
We can only hope for the best in Steinway's future, stay positive and supportive. It must be interesting to takeover production of a product that is under intensive public scrutiny.
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Then, using a gentle flame, the “grand finisher†burns thin layers of felt from the hammerheads to make sure they are properly aligned with the strings.
That's incorrect, no? I thought the flame was applied to the hammer shanks.
I'd rather be practicing Kawai K-3, Roland FP-7F Now: Brahms Op. 118, Bach French Suite #5
IMHO, the most significant couple of sentences are the following:
“They’re not out there to build pianos that sound the same; that’s what Yamaha does,†he told me. “Yamaha makes beautiful instruments, but the benchmark for success is uniformity.†With Steinway, he said, “you’re getting a high quality instrument, but they have distinctive characteristics that make you choose one over the other.â€
Since it depends on one's background, each reader will have a different reaction to the article but in my case, coming from a manufacturing background, the goal has always been to make your product conform to clearly defined specifications. Once that ability has been obtained then you raise or tighten the specifications to improve your product.
When your product does not meet specifications (or when there are no clearly defined specifications) on a regular basis then you often concede that your manufacturing process is out of control. Alternatively, you can claim individuality, uniqueness and character for your product.
IMHO, the most significant couple of sentences are the following:
“They’re not out there to build pianos that sound the same; that’s what Yamaha does,†he told me. “Yamaha makes beautiful instruments, but the benchmark for success is uniformity.†With Steinway, he said, “you’re getting a high quality instrument, but they have distinctive characteristics that make you choose one over the other.â€
Since it depends on one's background, each reader will have a different reaction to the article . . .
I agree that it depends on one's background but it also depends on one's experience and knowledge. Concert pianists play Steinway pianos more than any other make probably because most major concert halls in the world have a Steinway piano (or two?). And Steinways are not the only hand-made pianos. Fazioli pianos are hand-made and these are now played always, I understand,(in preference to Steinway) by Nikolai Demidenko and Angela Hewitt. Also, in the latter years of his concert career, Sviatoslav Richter insisted on playing a Yamaha which he took with him on tour. Yamaha also has a range of handcrafted pianos as does Kawai, and the newly launched British piano Cavendish is also hand-made. I do not deny that Steinway pianos have distinctive characteristics, but others do too. Yet, whenever I hear Steinway pianos played in concerts they all sound pretty much the same to me. Any differences in sound are generally down to the acoustic of the hall and/or the playing/touch of the pianist rather than to the piano. Having said all, however, I expect Steinway will continue to dominate the classical concert world for years to come. That doesn't bother me, but the Steinway sound generally, is not my preferred sound.
