NAMM 2009

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Eric
Le Merigot Hotel in Santa Monica

Le Merigot Hotel in Santa Monica

Namm has come and gone. We did something completely different this year by not showing at NAMM in our customary large booth with nice lighting, Viennese coffee and champagne.

Instead we hosted our dealers at the very nice Le Merigot in Santa Monica with the intention of giving them a relaxing break and a chance to talk with them (and take orders) in a more relaxed setting. The result was great..much less work, much less cost and much nicer all around experience.

The problem is that my relatively new Canon G9 camera disappeared. Whether or not I just lost it or it was taken out of my room is unclear and,ultimately, not important. But it does mean that a lot of good photos are gone, gone, gone.

We showed a revised CS and the new satin lacquer finish. Very well received.

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Some conflicts of interest.

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Eric

There is a problem representing a maker while blogging. It means that I have to be rather circumspect both in regards to Bosendorfer and in regards to competitors. This is an insanely small industry and one tends to hear all kinds of rumblings. The rumblings that actually turn out to be true and of significance are rare.

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Cool gadget

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Eric

Here is a cool gadget from Dopplr that keeps track of my travels.

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Nice piano!

Posted on November 3, 2008 by Eric

I’m in Charleston SC right now (really great city!) and just heard Valentina Lisitsa play the Tchaikovsky 1 with the Warsaw Philharmonic. Valentina is a big Bosendorfer fan, and the feeling is mutual. But our bank of concert pianos can’t completely keep up with the vast range of her performances, and we don’t have a piano near Charleston.

So, imagine my surprise to see a shiny Yamaha CFIIIS on the stage. I’m rather partial to the CFIIIS, having managed the Yamaha US Artist Relations program for 10 years. Oh, and I also own one. I believe that the world needs more than one concert piano and Yamaha has worked very very hard to give the world one, with the resources to put it out where people can see (hear) it. You could call the world of concert pianos a zero sum game (any win for one is a loss for the others).  However, when faced with a monopoly, the game is somewhat different. If any instrument can fight it’s way onto the concert stage in a consistent and satisfying manner, then that instrument is good for all the ones fighting the same fight. The monopoly’s domain is slightly smaller and someone else has planted a stake.

This particular Yamaha was extremely satisfying. Plenty of power (remember, it’s Tchaik 1) with extraordinary tone and sustain in the soft lyrical parts. Yet, still with a sound of its own. Really nice piano…oh, and played by somebody pretty extraordinary herself!!

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OK, OK, so I don’t have the basic part of blogging down!

Posted on November 3, 2008 by Eric

June…November…not so bad, right? Of course, a lot has happened during this period, but some things can’t really be talked about…strategy, plans, that sort of thing.

Here are a couple of items:

North American Dealers meeting in Las Vegas in August – big success

International Dealers Meeting in Vienna in September – big success

Bottom dropping out of the economy in October.. – real crap

Bosendorfer Piano channel on YouTube – cool in a nerdy kind of way.

(www.youtube.com/bosendorferpianos)

Finally I have a place for a lot of the video I’ve been shooting.

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Visit to Vienna

Posted on June 10, 2008 by Eric

Spent a quick 4 days in Vienna in May. Of course, the week before I was there and the day I left were beautiful but while I was there, it was AGAIN WITH THE CRUDDY EUROPEAN WEATHER!!

I took my new very fancy HD video camera and spent the Sunday of arrival finding Ludwig Bosendorfers grave in the Central Cemetery. It’s quite humble, away from any of the big-shot sections.

Michael Nissen of Bosendorfer, the current keeper of history there, tells me that that is how it was specified in Bosendorfers will. In fact, the story goes, he wanted only his first name LUDWIG.  It’s a little frustrating because Carl Schweighofer has a dramatic site, as does the Streicher family. And how often do we hear about either one of those pianos today,eh?

Ludwig Bosendorfer grave marker

Ludwig Bosendorfer grave

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Bluthner 3

Posted on April 29, 2008 by Eric

And the 3rd unique feature, in my opinion, is the 4th unison string in the treble. This string is raised above the level of the other 3, so the hammer does not strike it. It’s purpose is to vibrate sympathetically, contributing to the unique Bluthner tone.

It even has it’s own little damper.

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Wait, Andreas…let me explain!

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Eric

Why am I such a Bosendorfer geek?

In a nutshell, everything I know about high end pianos I learned from Bosendorfer. Seeing my first Imperial at the University of Wisconsin/Madison at the ripe age of 20 set me on my path. From then on, there was nothing so dramatic, spectacular and, well, downright sexy as that piano. The extra keys, the shape of the rim, the construction detail, the sound, there was nothing like it, especially not the Steinway D’s scattered about the building.

Later, to my utter amazement, I got the chance to work there. I was trained at the factory, did concert service throughout the US, and became the first US Service manager.

a14.jpg yes, I are a technician

a131.jpg …can you identify the world famous pianist on the right?

Then, again later, after a stint with a major East coast Steinway dealer and 12 years at Yamaha, I had the chance to come back, back home.

But, as I’m sure Ludwig Bosendorfer would approve of (not so likely with John Steinway’s ghost), I’m a high end piano guy first, which is why I’m exploring and talking about other high end manufacturers.

do you either of these men?

..me and some guy…

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Why no comments?

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Eric

I previously disabled the comments feature on this site because it is a magnet for spam.

However I just updated to the latest version of WordPress and will turn comments on. Maybe the upgrade fixed the spam problem. Just click on the button that probably says “No comments”.

If you’re a blogger, try wordpress. The upgrade went just as smoothly as they said (still, not for newbies).

I welcome comments, mainly to see if anybody is reading this.

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Bluthner 2

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Eric

Bluthner was the only maker of the 3 that allowed me to take photos. As Christian said, one can take all the photos one wants, you still won’t be able to build a Bluthner, and he’s right.

The factory is a familiar sight of individual craftspeople working on individual pianos, with a mixture of machines for doing various steps, primarily wood working such as planing and trimming.

Rim Construction

There are, in my mind, 3 unique structural features of the Bluthner. The first is the sectioned inner and outer rim. Bluthner uses a laminated rim, as is common in piano building. To those new to this, laminated simply means layers of red beech glued together in a mold. This is a very familiar and traditional method of making a piano rim.

However, instead of being bent all in one piece, they are built in sections and then joined together. The purpose, in Christians words, is to have a rim that is completely free from stress or tension.

Bluthner rim

In this photo, you can see the outer rim section, and on the right, just the edge of the inner rim joining.

Cylindrical Soundboard Crowning

The second unique feature is the cylindrical, rather than spherical crown. It’s a little hard to show in a photo, but Christian demonstrated with a business card:

bluth_sdbd2.jpg

This is done for both strength and tonal purposes and is on the uprights as well.

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