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First off, Hi, I'm new here, this is my first post here.

So, I'm not a professional pianist - I've been only playing for 2 years, I have a piano teacher I go to every once in a week, I generally play for my own enjoyment, I own a Yamaha Clavinova CLP-775.

I've never played on a concert grand piano, like Steinway D-274, or Bosendorfer 290 Imperial, and it has always been my dream just to try playing on such a piano at least once. Any ideas where I could find them (and of course, where they would let me try)?

I personally have no intentions to play for concerts or anything big.

Thanks.

I don't know if you have community colleges in the UK, I take lessons through our local community college and they probably have 30 pianos that students can use. Many aren't in great shape, but there are quite a few kept locked up for use by the instructors. If you enroll in a semester of private lessons, you're likely to have a chance to play those pianos for your lesson. Our college has four concert sized grands, including Steinway, Yamaha and Kawai. If you don't have community colleges, maybe a university would have a program for a student at large and you could enroll there.

You might also try a piano store. When I was shopping, the local stores would let me try anything they had in stock, which included the kind of pianos you are interested in playing.

Interesting, I'l give that a shot.

Not relevant to you, but as a curiosity a smallish live music venue here is now open for private sessions for a few days i.e. you bring yourself and max 9 other people and you get to use their stage (with a Fazioli grand) for 45 minutes. They can also provide a pro quality video recording of it.

It's just a temporary arrangement as everything else is cancelled for a while. The fee is 250 €.

Oh yes, try Chappell's in Wardour St, they usually have a big Bosie. You might not get very long on it, however.

In London you could visit Yamaha Music or Jacques Samuels; JS has practice rooms with grands. There are other practice rooms in London with grands and Google will help. My local college has a music and performing arts department and has a grand, but they weren't too happy about me playing it when I was on an accountancy course. Bonners sometimes has a small (baby) grand on the shop floor, so other musical instrument dealers may well have too. One of the criteria I had for choosing a teacher was they has to have a grand I could learn on. Churches: there's a guy on YT called Terry who made a series of him visiting churches on vacation and recording whenever he came across a grand; he normally plays boogie or blues but revealed his skill with choral music.

Not sure where in the UK you are but in Birmingham there's a Meetup group called Let's Play Piano

https://www.meetup.com/Lets-Play-The-Piano-Birmingham/photos/

As you can see they have organized sessions where the participants have played on concert grands. Only thing is you have to perform in front of an audience if you want to play the piano . Would give you the chance to play a concert grand though. In fact I note their next event is on the 30/1/22!

You don’t mention what acoustic pianos you have tried before?

I got to play some really expensive pianos over $200k USD by going to stores where they sell them. I played some Steinway's, Bosendorfers, and Yamaha CFX. Maybe you can find some fancy shops around.

You can rent a room at the 1901 Arts Club in London with a Steinway Model C-227. It's not the same as the D, but the action feels the same. It's beside Waterloo Station and you can hear the trains, so it mightn't be the best place to make a recording.

Jacques Samuel on the Edgeware Road used to have a Model D in one of their practice rooms but not anymore. The last time I was over in London they had a Bechstein Model B in Studio 2. I heard that they were replacing it with a Fazioli, but their website still says they have a Bechstein.

Blüthner on Baker St. have a lovely grand in one of their rooms, but it's not a concert grand.

Hurstwood Farm near Sevenoaks had a Böseendorfer Imperial that you can book for a recording session. I don't know whether it's still available.

If you are anywhere near London, you might find it interesting to go to the viewing of the Piano Auctions sales. There are four per year, now held in Watford (a short train ride from Euston). The next sale is on Tuesday 5 April. The Sunday and Monday before, you can make an appointment to view. (The need for an appointment is just a covid thing.) You can spend a happy couple of hours trying whatever pianos you like. There are well over a hundred - all sorts of makes, old and new, uprights and grands (and perhaps even a square or two). There are generally one or two concert grands. Fun and very educational.

You have a lot more opportunities than here in Malta, A far smaller country, In this country pretty much the only people who will be allowed to play any concert grand are the professionals and concert pianists and even then most likely the concert grand is imported from overseas.

So with that said, idk if universities here do have full size concert grands, the best would be medium size concert grands, maybe the largest in this country available to play would be around 240cm length.

Malta isn't known for having professional piano players sadly, the ones who do seek to be professional tend to take a flight to anywhere in Europe and are willing to live abroad for a while to where there is a piano/music school where it has such resources.

With that said, I kinda wished Malta has easier access to concert grands for people who would love to practice on one such as a Steinway D or better yet a Bosendorfer Imperial but my hopes for such is low here and I am not willing to take a flight overseas just to play a concert piano for a little bit, irrelevant of COVID, speaking of which, some facilities where you could rent a room have closed down due to COVID and idk when will they open, I hope in summer they would allow to book a room but still, no promises on that one and that means there are less opportunities than ever now.

I have a 9' Bluthner. You can play that until your fingers ache, and beyond.

I can understand that. But availability of pianos to play might be one of your considerations when choosing holiday destinations.

Why don’t you wait to seek out a concert grand after you have learned to play the piano? You will appreciate the experience more then than you would now. Developing your own technique allows you to truly test the piano’s capabilities

I do, I did not say I want to play a concert grand right away first I'l start on an upright with the help of a teacher, make connections/network with other pianists in Malta as well besides my niece (she went to a music school of her own so she knows and can hook me up with such people) and go from there.


tbh I rarely take a flight and this isn't just because of COVID either, so flying abroad is not my thing, sorry.

This is a completely exceptional organization, but the Harvard Musical Association in Boston allows pianists who are not members to reserve practice time on one of their grand pianos.

Thank you for replying everyone.


My teachers piano is an upright, iirc it was a kawai, so I get to practice on her piano, the one I personally own is a digital.

Whereabouts are you?

London, bromton road