pianos

[truepenny]

My piano is going to be delivered tomorrow.

I cannot believe how geeked I am about this. I spent much of the weekend, when I should have been working on Chapter 14 (it hates me, and I'm beginning to suspect it may be Undead, as well), surfing the web looking at pictures of old grand pianos.¹ I learned rather a lot about Steinways, Bösendorfers², and Bechsteins, as well as Blüthners.

I discovered that I love old grand pianos. Not in the Gotta catch 'em all! Pokemon sense, but in terms of hopelessly admiring their beauty and being stunned with wonder that they exist and have survived and are still being played. I really did spend hours simply looking at pictures and reading descriptions and wanting to rescue these magnificent dowagers from the people who put CD players in them.

So here is my invitation to all y'all. If you love, or have loved, a grand piano, tell me about it. As much detail as you want. And if you can link to pictures, that's definitely a bonus.

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1. Apparently "antique" is a term applied only to pianos built before about 1850, when the current soundboard shape was developed. (The history and development of the piano grossly oversimplified for the sake of not having a footnote longer than the main post.)

2. One thing I learned is that Bösendorfers do not please my sense of visual aesthetics. Their sound quality may be fantastic, but my GOD those puppies* are ugly.

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*Speaking of puppies, wicked_wish is trying to help one find a home. And he's not ugly at all, poor lamb.

Comments

[larryhammer]

All my pianos have been uprights. I played a baby grand (Yamaha I think) in the student lounge for a while, but I never warmed to it. I didn't like the sound as much as my upright back home.

Yes, something of heresy, I know. But it was true.

---L.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

I don't like the way Yamahas sound. Any of them--grand, upright, console, doesn't matter.

Modern pianos, especially but far from exclusively the Japanese ones, have a very hard, bright sound that I find unpleasant. One of the reasons I love the Blüthner is that its voice is very warm and mellow.

[larryhammer]

I wish I could remember who made my upright, but it's in another state at the moment (and likely to remain there for several years). From the 1930s, IIRC, with a sunny tone I've always liked -- though painful to hear when even just a little bit out of tune, which happens easily when its humid.

[mmarques.livejournal.com]

Then you'd probably hate my "piano". A Yamaha digital piano, sampled from two different grand pianos. But I did get it when I lived in an apartment (so I could practice with headphones). And it never needs tuning.