Best Piano You've Performed On

[cmg]

Hahaha once upon a time I went to the Piano Retail store...Indy Piano Solutions in Indiana.

       I was in for a treat while my cousin looks at pianos for a while.  rotated around 4 big show rooms played about 30 or so nice pianos I played some rags on until I came upon  an enourmous back room...and I came upon a Steinway Model D Concert Grand Piano that's sound board seemed to come to life as I played Rachmaninoffs Prelude Op 23 No 5 and was shocked by the shear power of what I could do with Chopins 2nd Scherzo and then the Bechstein up on the stage they had in the showroom it could produce the most beutiful tone and hold its notes sooo long the ties in waltz op 64 no 2 and the subtleness of Chopins Eflat Nocturne were amazing....

I was suprised I never got kicked out, I must be good? I always thought I could do better, but people keep telling me im good. Well that doesnt relax my practicing habits and composing, I spend 10 hours a day, probably 5 on school nights with my little grand piano beating the hell out of it, hoping my parents will by my a seperate building equipped with a concert hall and concert grand pianos.

I dream of having a piano like this, to me id put it ahead of what god says about posessions, well bechhstein and steinway are above god, no offense,   I have yet to try Bosendorfers imperial grand...I can only imagine the thundering, roaring power of those extra lower voices.

All this sudden sensitivity from the poster who said, "Bach lacks music and he sucks" in that inane  "Rach vs Bach" thread started by another troll?

I've got a feeling you took too long a break from your video games.  Time to go back home.

Or, probably more accurate, don't drink while your driving.

[lostinidlewonder]

brendan765 ..... the89thkey?......... i see a pattern there in their username numbers...... I see a pattern in the online activity..... I also see pattern in their boasting..... wow... Can admin see pattern in IP?

[kujiraya]

There are not many Stuart & Sons pianos around, so not many of you have the chance to play on one. So, please stop disrespecting this piano make, especially if you have not even played on one! However, I HAVE played 3 of the Stuart & Sons 102 keys concert grand and studio grand models, and I will INSIST that they are on a completely different order of magnitude and plane of excellence, compared to any other piano I've played on. I am familiar with the ~9 ft and ~7 ft models of the Bosendorfer, Kawai, Sauter, Steinway, Stuart & Sons, and Yamaha brands. Note that I have not had the opportunity to play on a Fazioli piano, so I am open to the likelihood that the Fazioli and the Stuart & Sons are on similar planes of excellence. Note that the Fazioli and the Stuart & Sons both have the extra 4th pedal that brings the hammers closer to the strings, in addition to the usual una corda soft pedal on the other brands of grand pianos.

So, for the piano brands I have played on, my ranking of them would be:
1) Stuart & Sons
2) Bosendorfer
3) Sauter
4) Yamaha
5) Kawai

I am leaving Steinway last, because I have played multiple Steinway 9 ft grands and 7 ft grands, and the expression on my face always looks like this afterwards:  and   

Once, after discovering that a 20 year old Yamaha baby grand sounded better than a brand new Steinway 7 ft grand that was costing about 30 x the price of the 20 year old Yamaha baby grand, my attitude towards Steinway changed to this: 

Unfortunately, the last I heard about a year ago, because of the current economic conditions, Wayne Stuart was not making new instruments until his current stock is all cleared.

Hope this gives a more informed opinion on the quality of the Stuart & Sons pianos.

[drexo]

I once had the opportunity to play on a good old Bechstein grand piano, somewhere dated around 1911, and It was the best sound I've ever experienced. The touch was subtle and moony light - a dream to play on.

Also played on various Bösendorfer pianos which suited my taste too. On my to-do list is still playing on a concert grand Steinway if I have the opportunity.

[tchristec]

Where do you guys find these pianos?!?!?!  I want to try them too   The only ones I find here are Japanese pianos.  Not that they are bad, but I want to try others

[brendan765]

I once had the opportunity to play on a good old Bechstein grand piano, somewhere dated around 1911, and It was the best sound I've ever experienced. The touch was subtle and moony light - a dream to play on.

Also played on various Bösendorfer pianos which suited my taste too. On my to-do list is still playing on a concert grand Steinway if I have the opportunity.

You have a good taste in sound my friend, the Bechstein sounds glorious, it holds the best tone quality ever! The steinway model Ds ive played (the usual for recitals) has a better action and sound board which resonates like it's alive.


I want a Bechstein! over all. that experience was amazing, play one on stage if you get a chance, you will go off into dream land.


My new piano teacher has A Steinway Model B Concert Grand it's beutiful and I love how she has long lessons for me...we go over our alotted hour by about 30mins to hour, she's a great teacher, learning so much already

[hbofinger]

Hamburg Steinway B. four of them, can't say which was the best. One was in a showroom in Stuttgart, Germany. It was the best one of their selection. Someone had figured it out,too: it was already sold.

Then I played three a few years back in the Steinway showroom across the street from the Bosendorfer showroom in Vienna, Austria, right by the Musikverein. All of them clear winners. Figures - they were competing with the other "best" brand in their home town right across the street. I would consider this dealership a good one to go to.

I have owned Bluthner, a recent Bosendorfer (model 200), and now a Yamaha C7. The C7 is the best I have owned so far, though. But then I play other C7s, and none of them match this one. So it really depends as much on the individual instrument as the on the make....

[liug_2012]

I was lucky enough to try a $1.5 million dollar piano, the Bosendorfer Emperor Concert Grand (a replica of it, rather), which sits at the Bellevue Classic Pianos store.

It has quite the voluminous sound, and an extended bass range

[lanierlaw]

Our Steinway dealer's D Concert Grand (used by the symphony)---I've had the opportunity to perform on it at various community events such as Parking Day and the Kudzu Festival. Now, I love my own Steinway L;  and my Yamaha ES-8 workstation is great for composition, orchestration and recording. I can record with the Yamaha and have it play back while
I play on the Steinway!