Piano Video Lesson: What are the Best Piano Brands in 2015?

Hi and welcome to VirtualSheetMusic.com and LivingPianos.com. I'm Robert Estrin. The video today is about what are the best piano brands.

You know, I made a video on this subject about 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-to-date. 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 flung places 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, Bosendorfer, the Austrian company owned by Yamaha and Samick owns Bechstein and Seiler. It's very confusing.

And then Seiler's, some of them are made in Indonesia. In fact, so many companies have factories in different countries, Yamaha and Kawai 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 stencil pianos, where the name on 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 piano companies that are no longer producing. Sometimes they're 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 is building the piano for 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 you have Fazioli, to right here in the United States, Mason and Hamlin and many others in Europe.

These are instruments for the discerning few, but they produce very few pianos. As a matter of fact, last year there were only about 1,400 pianos built in the United States. You might wonder is price indicative of quality. Well, in 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 to a hand made piano if that style of sound doesn't suit them.

Naturally there's 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 is that based upon the price you pay? In some part it is but more importantly if a piano is a lower priced piano, it might not pay to rebuild when the time comes because at the end of the day the price you'll 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 Kawai, and two huge Korean companies, Young Chang and Samick producing a wealth of pianos on many different levels in factories in different countries. Add to that the stencil pianos coming out of China and there's actually hundreds of companies in China that don't export. So it's an exploding world of pianos out there.

Now, I could give you a top 10 list, but it wouldn't be fair because there are actually far more than 10 piano companies making top tier instruments. But the question is, what's the right piano for you? Some people have a realm of experience and have a favorite piano brand, but all too often it'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 with my father, Morton Estrin, a Baldwin artist helping him choose pianos for his New York recitals and his recording sessions. I played countless great Baldwins, playing concerts and at music conservatory. I played so many great Steinways. So obviously I have a wealth of experience with these brands. Of course, over the years I've gotten experience with 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 and Hamlin, another year a Bosendorfer or maybe a Shigeru Kawai 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 could 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. It would be very good to make new videos on these subjects for you.

Thanks so much for joining me. Robert Estrin, here at VirtualSheetMusic.com and LivingPianos.com.

Automatic video-to-text transcription by DaDaScribe.com

Thank you for your comment, question or request!

Comment/Question deleted successfully.

Post a comment, question or special request:

Comments or questions must be between 3 and 10,000 characters long.

You may: Login  or  

Otherwise, fill out the form below to post your comment:

Add your name below:


Add your email below: (to receive replies, will not be displayed or shared)


For verification purposes, please enter the word MUSIC in the field below

---