Hello Beto-Music,
Last year, and a few years before that, I had the pleasure of playing numerous concert quality grands of all famous makes in close proximity at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California, USA.
Because the vendors were putting their best products forward for current and potential dealers to try, all of these pianos were exquisitely tuned and regulated far beyond what one would normally expect in a real world setting.
I had the pleasure of playing on Bechsteins, Steinways, Bluethners, Faziolis, Foersters, Bosendorfers, a Shigeru Kawai, and a Yamaha CFIII among others. (Even Pearl River had a 9' concert grand available, just to show that they could put together a 9' grand -- but everyone was laughing at it!)
Here's the point to be made: When you are sampling the very best wares of these piano manufacturers, each made with the finest materials and handmade craftsmanship available to them, they are all great sounding and great playing. (Well ... leave out the Pearl River on that last statement.) As such, the finest craftsmen using the finest materials on the finest piano designs -- each cost a lot of money.
Although, if I had $150000 USD to spend it on any of these pianos, the Yamaha wouldn't be my first choice, I must confess that if the brand names were not prominently displayed on the fallboards and cast into the pianos' frames, I would be hard pressed to select just one piano if I didn't know what brand name I was playing.
* * * * * * *
It has been said by the Yamaha National Representative at the 2009 NAMM show that 90% of the world's concert stages use two piano brands, and Yamaha is one of them (and, by implication, Steinway is the other).
Now let's be careful here: Just because 90% of the world's stages use these two brands, that does NOT necessarily mean these two are the best! It really means that two vendors furnish pianos easier than their competitive brands FOR USE on the world's stages ... for product brand exposure and association with known artists.
Steinway has obviously done this for years. (So did Baldwin, when they made world-class pianos some years ago.) Each vendor has a stable of pianists who contractually agree to perform in public on a certain brand of piano.
Yamaha has relatively recently joined this particular bandwagon, but they have amassed their numbers (to achieve the 90% world stage figure) by furnishing pianos for Contemporary Pianists such as Elton John, Michael Buble, Vanessa Carlton, etc, but also have Classical Artists such as Abbey Simon (a previous Baldwin artist).
If you would like to continue this discussion, please chime in.
Cheers,
Joe
Last edited by jcfelice88keys (14-07-2010 16:19)
