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Bösendorfer. Thank you / Steve

My preference is the Steinway D (Hamburg) in the video

Hamburg S&S D #1 - well blended, nice una corda
Bösendorfer #2 - tinny treble,
Yamaha #3 all over thin

Judged on my iPad speakers.

Bösendorfer per my computer speakers. I would be happy to give any, or all, of them a home.

For me the Steinway D edged out the Yamaha. The Bosie Imperial is a lovely instrument, but I've just never really taken to it personally. However, I do wonder which one I would take to if I were playing the three of them side-by-side like that.

I loved the Steinway, but I think Mr Menti made them all sound beautiful. What was the Chopin he played in the third segment?

Chopin's Ballade #4 Opus 52 in f minor. My all time favorite piece. It took me a year to play it all the way through.

Steve

thank you pianoverus.

The Bosendorfer edged out the Steinway in the LIszt sonata. The Yamaha came in last.
All three pianos fared well in Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit.
Again the Bosendorfer edged out the Steinway in the Chopin Ballade. Again the Yamaha came in last.

Overall, the Bosendorfer Imperial would be my choice of the three, with the Steinway Model D being my second choice. I was surprised that the Yamaha CFX did not fare better in this competition.

I used my Audioengine A2+ powered speakers on my PC for listening.

Thank you, pianoloverus, for bringing this video to our attention..

Thank you Lakeviewsteve--I love it too. Will add it to my someday list.

I'm curious. Herr Mendl participated in the piano selection process for Synchron Stage Vienna. Which of these pianos did Herr Mendl choose, and which piano was actually chosen by Synchron Stage Vienna?

Friends:

Writing as a Steinway man, absolutely, I have to second Almaviva's excellent assessment. Based on Herr Mendl's playing and the limits of the recording, as I hear it, the Bosie is, by far, the best of the three.

Karl Watson

The Yamaha was disappointing - I've heard better Yamaha's than that, though. The Steinway edged out the Bosendorfer, but both were excellent. I'd choose the Steinway for Concerto, and go with either the Bose or Steinway for solo piano, and for chamber or Jazz, I'd go with the Bose.

We have on stage at the university a brand new Bosendorfer 280 VC and a 25 year old NY Steinway D. The Steinway has more power, and I don't have it powered up as high as it's capable. The Bosendorfer action beats the Steinway. The Bose tone and power will come up some once it's been played in.

This one is interesting also, done using clips of recordings from the 17th Chopin competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qPp0njnWhk

It introduces another variable, though, as the pianists are different for each piano.

I put some in-ear speakers for this that were pricey when I got them six years ago. And everyone knows if it's spendy, it's better!

I find myself always looking to root for the outsider/underdog/other in things like this. Because I often feel that over the years I've been programmed to prefer the sound of Steinways. So I went in not sure what to expect from the CFX. And wanting very much to prefer the Imperial.

As I generally do, I much enjoyed the Bosendorfer very much. I would love to own one someday. And wish this comparison included the 280VC instead. Which I have tended to prefer in the internet recordings I've heard.

The Yamaha didn't really move me one way or the other.

For overall versatility, and a full, blended -- but still clear -- sound, I would pick the Steinway here if it were my money to spend. Again, however, I suspect there is much subconscious bias telling me this is how it "should" sound.

Were I to make a video like this I would make it impossible to identify the piano used and eliminate any and all commentary for the first play through. Then I would play every piece again in the same order but this time identifying the instrument and making any observations.

To most discerning and truly objective ears, that would be the way to do it. Whether we admit it or not, we may be predisposed to evaluate more favourably brands which we have been "conditioned" to prefer when we know those brands are being played.

Regards,

I quite think the converse is also true.

I wonder if we listen only but not watch this test video. What's the result?

I would not judge them until I had a chance to evaluate how they could be voiced. I have tuned all three of those models, and have an idea of what could be done with them, and I would not necessarily leave them the way they are voiced in the video.