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It amazes me that Steinway (NY) and Steinway (Hamburg) seem to be in competition with each other. Same company operating as two separate firms.

Regarding Andre Watts as a Steinway artist - I read that he was frustrated with the NY headquarters of Steinway & Sons when twice during two performances the pianos had mechanical problems (I suppose the current word is piano malfunctions). He did "switch" to Yamaha, but was back on the Steinway roster within 5 years. During his first year playing a Yamaha concert grand I had the priviledge of attending his concert (Breakers) during the Newport RI Music Festival.

Re: Andre Watts

A few years ago, Cunningham did an unusual promotion for a school - "Academy of Community Music". They offer free music for inner city kids and Andre is on their board. After the concert we sponsored a ritzy meet the artist reception (actually 4 hours of wine, cheese, and Andre at hundreds per couple).

We brought in a rebuilt S&S M that he played at the reception, signed, and we auctioned off for the charity. He had just played a concert on a new NY D and HIS WORDS, "If I had played onstage on THIS piano (our rebuild) I would have sounded better."

In a conversation with him, he mentioned that he is not affiliated with any manufacturer (this was 1999, I believe). At this point in his career he did not need to be. Has that changed since then, I wonder??

Rich,

Andre Watts is not listed as a Steinway artist on the Steinway website.

I don't think he's pictured on those two pages of artists in Yamaha's magazine, either.

You must be right.

BTW, he is leaving the Univ. of Maryland to teach at Indiana, according to their alumni magazine.

Keith Kerman,

The Steinway A is probably like the "Dakota Jackson" one they have been selling. It is terribly expensive, being an art case.

It didn't do much for me at all, but it has been so long since I played it that I can no longer remember why I was unimpressed.

What do you think of the old Steinway "long scale" A's? Those always seemed quite close to the B in tone.

Mark,

I am sure it was the "Dakota Jackson". The voicing was a bit dull, but it was otherwise prepped quite well, considering it was being shown off at the PTG national convention. The art case bench must have weighed 100lbs!

The long A, or A3, is the best of the As, and I have always wondered why the Hamburg A is based
on the shorter A2, which is still a nice piano.
A good long A will hold its own against a B.

My teacher has an A3. Its bass kicks bootie. I could see it giving a B a run for its money.

penny

I thought S&S was generally absent from the PTG conventions. Might the A have been the Tricentenial version, or would that make it too old for display? Steinert's Boston had a joint venture A in their window, like the one described. Its stick was uniquely curved. The sound had great bass and great treble sustain. The hammers were brighter, like I think one would expect of a Hamburg piano, but they were NY.

It still sits unsold in their upstairs inventory. The prep has fallen away and its starting to sound shrill.

I don't know if you were making a general question about the long A's to someone specific, but I've tried about a half a dozen of them and think it is difficult to assert that an A3 can outperform a B, not because it isn't possible, but because finding one that has had a top flight rebuild is pretty difficult. FWIW, the ones I've tried have been plenty powerful, but didn't capture the S&S sound quite as well. I suspect it was the rebuilding/parts/techniques and not the scale. I wish I knew better.

RE: Irvings M&H Vs S&S test.

I thought this was over, or on hold. The thing I remember about those two, especially the Mason BB, was the level of prep. Its hammers were the most pear shapped I had ever seen and the tone blosoomed like no other BB I've tried before, or since.

Chris

Chris,

Twenty-five+ years ago the university I was attending discovered two long scale A's and an old Everett 6' abandoned in the basement of an unheated former church used for opera workshop. The A's had been played little and were very well-preserved. It was a rare opportunity to play an old piano in good, original condition. I thought they came very close to a B. Despite their condition, the technician insisted on rebuilding them anyway.

The Dakota Jackson A had a curved prop stick.

My reaction also. I almost bought one of these beauties a couple of years ago. I played it side-by-side with several new Steinway B's at Jacob's Music in Philadelphia. The DJ was bright & lively, but lacked oomph in the lower register. The B's just sounded muddy, as if no one had bothered to prep them. I ended up buying a Boesendorfer 225 from Rich Galassini, because it had all the brightness and most of the depth I've ever heard in a piano. As a huge fringe benefit - it was much cheaper than the DJ.

Great Topic especially for me. I had the pleasure of comparing a Hamburg D to several NY D's at Steinway Hall, all in the same room. The Hamburg is late 60's vintage. Some of the NY D's were new and others from the concerts and artists department. Overall I liked the Hamburg better than all the NY D's except for one, but not better, that was not a c&a but was a few years old. That was a great NY D but quite different in sound and feel from the Hamburg. I liked the action on that one a little bit better but I was told the Hamburg's previous owner had weighted the action a little heavier. Well the NY D was about 40K more in price and had already been "selected". Well w/ a great price (due to its age)on the Hamburg and a favorable comparison what was a guy to do? The Hamburg, after some reconditioning work was completed was delivered to my house on Saturday. It does not disappoint.

Congrats, LJC

I am a big fan of the Hamburg D. FWIW, we recently rebuilt a Hamburg D from the 60's for one of the top recording studios in the country, and it turned out beautifully.

I am sure you will have many happy years with this great instrument.

To Fully Answer your question, here's the deal:

1. Watts tours with a Hamburg D that is maintained by Mary Schwinderman. She is a former Steinway Concert & Artist technician. This piano is owned & maintained by Mary Shwinderman and is rented to Watts.

2. The NY model D on the stage that you heard is owned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

3. My father in law has been a member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for 40 years.

I heard Watts perform on this Hamburg Steinway at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center a few months ago. I would agree that it sounded a bit bright and brassy.

I wouldn't group all Hamburg Steinways with the piano you heard Watts play. That piano's tone is not typical of Hamburg Steinways.

FOP,

I know Mary's piano quite well. It actually has 2 actions with very differently voiced hammer sets. IMO, the sound on this piano with the brighter set of hammers is very typical of a Hamburg Steinway D.

Chris,

You must have missed these threads about the contest that ran a few months ago:

"Scientific study finds that pianists prefer Mason & Hamlin over Steinway"

"Mason & Hamlin vs. Steinway: the final word"

The ratings and impressions of the 280 pianists who participated in the contest are posted on our web site.

We don't plan to do a study like this again any time soon, but there will be an unusual opportunity to compare some very interesting pianos in our store next month. Stay tuned. I'm planning to make an announcement early in the week - as soon as all of the elements are in place.

The Steinway A3 would be too much competition for the B

Steinway sales of "B's" would go down.