Steinway and Sons to be Sold to The Chinese Government?

[ThePianoforever]

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[bengieg]

With brand's such as Yamaha, Mason and Hamlin and Baldwin that are less costly, Steinway's position isn't that great.

[Hammorama]

If any foreign company takes over Steinway it's pretty irrelevant these days. Steinways were mass produced and hundreds of thousands were built in their best years. Right now around the country there are shops doing rebuilding and re-manufacturing of these classic instruments to a level better than the new work coming out of the factory and they are doing it for a much lower price than a new instrument. And there are no territory issues....you can go around and have the better shops rebuild one to order at any level of restoration you choose. Cincinnati Baldwins and Boston or Rochester Mason & Hamlins can be bought for less than Steinways because currently the name recognition of those brands has been lost, but the quality is still superb when rebuilt. The USA awash in fine old pianos that are waiting to be refreshed for a new life. There is no need to buy new pianos at high prices.

[kassemir]

Saw dust in the key bed.... really. that just sounds insane for such an expensive instrument. Is an industrial vacuum cleaner used properly too much to ask for? I mean.... really.

[stephenallen]

My lawyerly instincts tell me that if a company refuses to sell to customers who reside outside its zip code, it may be in violation of civil rights laws.

[thefleokmusic]

The Teflon bushings were somewhat fragile according to my understanding. A teacher of mine once remarked that he encountered a piano at his conservatory that played well new but experienced clicking issues only a few months into its break-in period.

[stevenvanstadenvanstaden]

Many of the issues criticised in the video (Teflon bushings for example) applied only to NY Steinways, not Hamburgs. The dead area and fast decay (poor sustain) mentioned applies often to both the NY and Hamburg Steinways and to most other makes, and there's always been a problem at the 'break point' in that area (the point at which the strut in the frame requires a gap in the stringing; between C and C# on the model D). I have a NY model D in my home and have played many in concert, mainly Hamburg Steinways (Europe and S Africa) but not by choice because in spite of the inconsistencies in the American pianos I have always felt that the best piano is the best NY model D. I also feel that Steinway lost their quality of tone about twenty or thirty years ago when a more powerful sound was the aim. The Hamburg model D has a very much more pronounced and offensive metallic timbre at forte and above - cheap-sounding to my taste. However, pianists stick with Steinway because they've monopolised the stages for a long time: this has done pianists and the company no good, because competition has effectively been reduced by this monopoly coupled to Steinway's artist policy which results in the company coming down hard and at times in a nasty way on Steinway artists who, dissatisfied with the available Steinway, have dared to play another make instead. Even pianists such as Artur Rubinstein and Glenn Gould got on the wrong side of this policy at times. Most pianists put up with whatever is on the stage - invariably Steinway - because of the enormous costs and hassles to get a different piano into the hall, whether preferred Steinway from the piano bank or some other make. One of the most fabulous NY Steinways was Horowitzes piano from the '60s. It was an exceptional singing instrument with lots of colours possible to a sensitive pianist. When Horowitz changed pianos about the mid '80s the best he could find was not a patch on the older one.

Perhaps if Steinway were owned by an American company with an interest in the arts rather than a football team, and standards at the NY factory were improved, we could again regard Steinways with the same awe as artists did prior to the second world war when all makers suffered the loss of their soundboard wood stockpiles and curing became much more artificial.

[suzyflorida]

This is a very eye-opening and educational video. I enjoyed it immensely. It's so nice to come across another piano lover ( and piano lovers in the comments).

[BruceBurger]

This reminds me of Gibson guitars. They try to do all these fancy upgrades, but everyone just wants a regular les Paul. Their guitar prices are at a premium just like Steinway.

If I ever get another piano in the future. I’d probably get a mason and Hamlin or a bosendorfer 😍😍🎹🎹

[jonathanr]

After watching this video I'm more and more convinced that it's the German Steinways that kept the the whole company in business. No Teflon experiments, a much more consistent output quality and more modern manufacturing methods especially everything related to the soundboard. There is a reason that the majority of concert grands to be seen around the world are Hamburg Steinways.
Still Steinway is really lacking innovation today. All grand pianos below the model A are outdated in terms of soundboard size and tonal quality.

[b.strong]

When I was in college, we transitioned to being an All-Steinway school (no Bostons or Essex, just Steinway). Most of them were complete junk if they could even keep a tune. We got the first two silver edition pianos in the world, a B and a D. The D was/is magnificent - never a problem. The B, however, had to be voiced and regulated about 4 or 5 times before anyone wanted to touch it, and it was a primary-use instrument (whereas the D stayed locked up in a corner for only special performances). Add to that that our dealer was/is a pompous ass. We made several "field trips" to the dealer for piano studio outings where they'd give a presentation about the history of the piano (Steinway) and the construction of it as well as plug their attached music store... and there were constant jabs at the local (non-Steinway) competition. There were also other issues with them and the pianos. Needless to say and after growing up with a Steinway, I am now a loyal customer of the competition where they roll out the red carpet every time that I come in compared to being treated like an idiot at Steinway.

[stephenallen]

I don't know what the Chinese government knows about music, but they must consider the acquisition of Steinway to be in their interest, which suggests that we should be cautious about doing business with it.

[Greywolf]

Thank you, that was very interesting and informative! I truly enjoy your channel.

[carlbowles]

Brand prestige works if the quality and strict attention to details are strictly enforced. When Steinway decided on brand prestige over quality and attention to details to sell pianos Steinway went wobbly.

[BobIGomez]

that seems to be the nature of the piano & up scale companies in the USA...last time I went to a piano store I ended up buying a harpsichord from a local luthier. I am self taught & simply wanted the experience of playing on a quality instrument.

[ColinMill]

I'm amazed that they thought Teflon was suitable for this application. It was well known from the earliest uses of Teflon that it does not have high long-term dimensional stability and, critically, undergoes plastic creep under continuous light pressure. So, even if you make a very accurate job of fitting a Teflon bushing to a shaft it is very likely that the bushing will become oval over time under the weight of the shaft alone leaving vertical slop in the assembly. Unless the application is tolerant of this you are going to have issues over time. 
Of course this is not perhaps the most expensive error from over-reliance on a new technology. Rolls Royce Aero Engines division, employing some 80, 000 people, went bust in 1971 largely because of the problems they encountered with using carbon fibre in the fan construction of the RB211 engine. The knock-ons from this also put a huge dent in the Lockheed Corporation.

[benjaminsmith]

It's awful that dealers want to control who you buy the piano from due to distance to the extent that you can't even get the piano that you feel is the best one and you're willing to travel to get. That's really awful.

[erpollock]

The speaker is well informed, well spoken, and intelligent. A rare combination. My impression was that the piano industry had contracted because Americans were no longer playing piano, but listening to music. As for Steinway tours, 20 years ago when I was taking a course at Juilliard on piano appreciation, the members of the class were taken on a tour of the Steinway factory in Astoria with no problem. Perhaps it was because our teacher was a great champion of the piano and well connected. Or maybe they changed their visiting policy. This was an excellent presentation.

[MartinA]

Really fascinating, thank you. Some companies think they are above normal market forces. Wrong!

[alwaysuseless]

Wow, this was fascinating and so clearly explained with your own telling experience as well as the general history! I didn't know any of this. I've been part of the general public that is just impressed by the name Steinway & Sons. And I think of Yamaha pianos* as excellent, too, but brighter, and for some classical pieces perhaps too bright. (In a recent review of the Yamaha P515, I believe you chose to play Satie in the Bösendorfer voice.)

* I began learning to play piano on a new Yamaha baby grand in a practice room at a university. Just the sound of it gave me goosebumps. It was so inspiring to play on, and my teacher was a graduate student in piano, who right away had me learning easy classical pieces and focusing on musicality. I was in heaven! Of course, I practiced scales, too, but I could see the need for that. Then he graduated and moved away, and soon after, I graduated too. With no amazing teacher and no piano, I stopped playing.

Now, 20 years later, I want to take up the piano again. I subscribed to your channel, because you offer clear, unbiased reviews of keyboards like the Yamaha P515 and the Kawai ES8, † which offer a reentry point for me at a price that makes sense for now. Living in a rural area during a pandemic, I suppose next I'll have to research piano lessons online.

† I really love your channel, and I see now that I have years of earlier videos to watch, while I wait for your direct comparison between those two contenders.