I was just reading about SONIVOX's Ensemble 88 piano and they mention a "Steinway CD 327". I'm curious to know what that is as I can't seem to find a reference to that model (although I'm not at all familiar with piano models by most of your standards, I suspect). Can someone enlighten me, please ?
Thanks.
P.S. Just curious. Pianoteq 6's Steinway D and Frenzel are lovely to my ears and need no replacements IMO. :-)
What is Steinway CD 327? They talk about a 9 foot. So,I think C mean Cenntenial (1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Steinway showed their developments). D is model D. 327 could be the number (if they made 424, read it somewhere).
Summary : Steinway Centennial D Concert Grand, 9 foot, number 327 of 424. This is my own thoughts, guess. Dont know if it is true. But, it can possibly help a bit?
Pianoteqenthusiast, you are correct, according to what I can find in "The Official Guide to Steinway Pianos." (Kehl and Kirkland, Amadeus Press, 2011)
On page 184 is the first of four pages of descriptions of the Centennial Grand, a series of pianos made between 1875 and 1884 (the pianos before 1877 were called Centennial Concert Grands, and after 1877 they were just called Concert Grands).
The first 276 bodies had "sectional cases". Pianos number 277 through 424 had "bent rim cases." Piano 277 was completed in 1880 and piano 424 was completed in 1883, meaning that number 327 has to be a bent rim case piano completed sometime within those years. It is an 8'9" piano, over-strung, with 88 notes, and a 17 note base section, designed by CF Theodore Steinway himself. These pianos, built to be publicly exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Fair in Philadelphia, had composite Capo d'Astro agraffe sections made of brass with steel inserts for the string contacts, with various design modifications made during the course of these pianos, with the idea being to allow heavier hammers and tighter stringing than in earlier grand pianos. This set of pianos was replaced in 1884 with the Steinway Model D.
- David
Well thank you all for that information - very impressed and grateful.
As for the Video by Sonivox explain why their sampling is such a big deal, well, it just made me even happier I have Pianoteq. Samples - they're for the birds. :-)
I confess at first glance I though that impressive looking room in the video was CGI. Who knew the real world had advanced to become as good looking as CGI ?
Sorry to disappoint, but the designation 'C' in front of D refers to "Concert [Model] D", as a piano in Steinway's stable of touring pianos destined to be used by Steinway Artists. These pianos are provided (shipped to the concert venue, then tuned and voiced) free of charge as long as the Steinway Artist allows the Steinway & Sons' 'double-S' logo to be displayed in concert, and that the Steinway brand is formally recognized in the audience's Playbill. Please note the top of the piano's hinged lid was "Stenciled" in white- or matte gold paint with the three-digit CD designation (in the form of a ~4-inch tall -- nominally 100mm -- CD XXX number becoming hidden from view after the hinged lid is folded open), but only the "D" designation was cast into the piano's iron/steel frame at the time the instrument's frame was manufactured; the CD designation was paint-stenciled at some later date by New York Steinway personnel (in "The Basement"). Steinway never casts a "CD" into its iron frame for its stable of touring pianos to be made available for loan to Steinway artists.
For example, Glenn Gould (*) loved to use Steinway "CD 318" (New York factory built in 1945 and discovered by Gould in 1960) until it was accidentally damaged (dropped perhaps?) in transit. Even after the cracked frame was repaired and soundboard replaced, Gould claimed CD 318 was never the same after the transit handling accident. As another example, CD 503 was Horowitz's favorite instrument to tour with him.
Steinway used a rather deliberate three digit CD XXX system of numbering their touring pianos. As older pianos were retired from Steinway's touring piano stable, they were replaced by newer ones with higher numbered CD designations.
Hope this helps clarify the "CD" designation mystery.
Cheers,
Joe
EDIT: (*) One can view the actual number '318' matte-gold paint stenciled onto the hinged lid of Glenn Gould's beloved CD 318 in the photo below:
https://postmediaottawacitizen2.files.w...&w=640
Well I'm not disappointed, Joe. :-) Interesting details of a world I know little of. I was aware of the Steinway Artists system, but not of anything but the headline details.
