What is best piano brand
What are the Best Piano Brands? 2015 Update
hi welcome to virtual sheet music calm
and living piano stockpile I'm Robert
Esther in the video today is about what
are the best piano brands you know I
made a video in this subject I've got
five and a half years ago and so much
has changed in the industry I thought it
was due time to do a refresh and bring
you up today
in that video I stressed the importance
of the country of origin why well it's
natural that a country that has a rich
history going back centuries should be
building better pianos than a country
that just started building pianos but
we've really changed quite a bit today
it's really a global marketplace
consider the iPhone the iPhone from
Apple an American company built in China
with screens made in Korea
circuits coming from parts of Europe
rare earth materials coming from as far
from paces as Mongolia so this is the
way it is in the world today not just
with electronics but with pianos that's
right we have very few independent piano
makers you have for example Busan door
for the Austrian company owned by Yamaha
and Sanok owns a Bechstein and Siler
it's very confusing and then sylars some
of them are made in Indonesia in fact so
many companies have factories in
different countries Yamaha and Kauai
have factories in Indonesia you have
many companies that have factories in
different countries it becomes very very
confusing now add to this the fact that
you have what are called stencyl pianos
where the name in the front of the piano
has nothing to do with the piano
they are sourced by enterprising
business people who buy the rights to
the name of some familiar cattle
companies that are no longer producing
sometimes or even fictitious names what
makes it even more confusing is
sometimes one company will import pianos
from different factories for different
models in the line so you might not even
know who's building the
ya know from a certain company well
there are many many small companies
making ultra high-end pianos that are
very expensive and super high quality
from Italy want foxy Olli - right here
in the United States Mason & Hamlin and
many others in Europe these are
instruments for the discerning few but
the produce very few pianos as a matter
of fact last year there were only about
1400 pianos built in the United States
you might wonder is price indicative
equality well a new market to a great
extent it can be but because so much is
up to personal taste one person might
prefer a much less expensive piano - a
handmade piano if that style of sound
doesn't suit them naturally there are
some compromises that have to be made in
order to reach a price point on a piano
so the question is how long will a piano
last and it's that based upon the price
you pay in some part it is but more
importantly if a piano is a lower price
piano it might not pay to rebuild when
the time comes because at the end of the
day the price you pay to rebuild isn't
warranted on a piano of that cost there
are really though four giants in the
world today and those are two Japanese
companies Yamaha and Kauai and two huge
Korean companies Jung Chang and Samak
producing a wealth of pianos on many
different levels in factories in
different countries add to that the
stencil piano is coming out of China and
there's actually hundreds of companies
in China that don't export so it's
exploding world of pianos out there now
I could give you a top ten list but that
wouldn't be fair because there are
actually far more than ten piano
companies making top tier instruments
but the question is what's the right
piano for you some people have a realm
of experience that have a favorite piano
brand but all too often that's based
upon a very limited realm of experience
maybe a piano that you've grown up with
or a piano that a teacher had for
example I grew up my father Morton
Estrin a Baldwin artist helping him
choose pianos for his New York
titles and his recording sessions I
played countless great Baldwin's playing
concerts and a music conservatory I
played so many great Stein ways so
obviously I have a wealth of experience
with these brands of course over the
years I've gotten experience playing so
many pianos here's a little interesting
story for you
every year I get to go to the NAMM show
the National Association of music
merchants trade show right nearby in
Anaheim California and I get to play
countless pianos from around the world
and interestingly each year it's a
different piano that's my favorite one
year it might be a Mason & Hamlin
another year of booze and or for maybe a
sugar oka why because ultimately it
comes down to the specific piano it's
beyond just the model the company or the
era because each one is crafted add to
that personal preference and you can see
why choosing the best piano brands is a
very tough task and ultimately the
choice is up to you I'd love to hear
from you any of you who have favorite
piano brands and why and with very good
to make new videos on these subjects for
you thanks so much for joining me Robert
Esther here at Virtua sheet music calm
and living pianos calm
you
