What Piano Do Concert Pianists Play at Home?

[@therainforest4314]

In this terribly disheveled world that we're living in right now, you guys and your content are an absolute breath of fresh air, not to mention hope for humanity, LivingPianosVideos. Thank you for that. :)

[@DandGBears]

Steinway has been continuously making the model B piano since 1878. Good lord that’s just incredible, what a history.

[@peter5.056]

Aw man.....My Kawai RX-7 Ugh.....lost in Hurricane Harvey's floodwaters. Best piano I ever had. I actually gave it a funeral.

[@trainliker100]

I've heard Golliwog's Cakewalk rehearsed MANY times as it is one of two songs my mother used to play as encores. So, she was always "tuned up" on it. She was a professional concert pianist (solo performances in Orchestra Hall in Chicago and such). For a first encore, she played Claire de Lune. And then Golliwog's Cakewalk for a second encore as it was a lighter song and good for signaling it would be the final song. Steinways were by far her favorite piano, but she didn't get her own until somewhat later in life when one of her best friends helped her get a wonderful rebuilt one at about half price. (She had a Mehlin & Sons before that.) This friend was Catherine Bielefeldt who even once baby sat me. She became the first woman manager at Steinway Hall in New York and wrote the book "The Wonders of the Piano: The Anatomy of the Instrument." (A very good book.) My mother met Cathy when they were in an all-woman "Piano Orchestra" during the WWII years. My mother was principal pianist and Cathy was one of the others of about 15 pianists. This enterprise was not financially successful and didn't last long. Their friendship did. One thing about Golliwog's Cakewalk is the perceived "political incorrectness" nowadays related to the "Golliwog". Long story short, and starting in England, the Golliwog was a "black face" doll that was hugely popular at one time.

[@susanspianostudio7057]

Interesting story. Thanks for sharing!

[@neshomk]

Beautiful Mozart Fantasy performance.

[@gregs3580]

Nice demo , Robert. I always enjoy what you say and what you play.

[@marcusvaldes]

I love Debussy and that is a fine sounding piano. The B is my dream piano.

[@GabrielVelasco]

Of course there are other great piano makers, but really nothing compares to a good Steinway in terms of balance across the registers and the evolution of the tone at different volumes. Sweet and warm at low volumes. Bright and penetrating with lots of overtones at higher volumes. Just beautiful. I'm not a piano player, but I know that one thing that we can never appreciate watching these videos, no matter how good the recording and our sound system, is the FEEL of the action. I play guitar and there are many combinations of guitar, pedals, and amps that I have played that sound very similar, but the FEEL, the RESPONSIVENESS, the ability to control the volume and tone of the system with your hands can be very different. All of this affects your ability to play expressively. I'm sure there's a reason that Steinways are the "reference standard" concert piano even though Bösendorfer, Blüthner, Baldwin, Yamaha, Kawai, etc. also make fantastic pianos, and I'd be willing to bet that the action and the responsiveness of the Steinways play a significant part.

[@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12]

Bosendorfer actions from what I hear are prity light. I've come across meny comments about Steinway some positive some negative🎹🎶

[@manueladevilliers5301]

I liked your performances today. Thank you!

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

Maestro, fabulous playing as always!!

[@krismeister_]

Love the tempo of the fantasy

[@johndouglas7787]

There is nothing like a 9' Concert Grand. I highly recommend them. I am a piano tuner/technician, private piano teacher, and performer. My home piano is the Yamaha CFIII Concert Grand.

[@hastensavoir7782]

How large is your mansion?

[@johndouglas7787]

@@hastensavoir7782 No mansion, just an average tract home with a nice size living room that I use for my teaching studio.

[@hastensavoir7782]

@@johndouglas7787 that’s like a Lamborghini running on city traffic @ just 60mph

[@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12]

Have you tried the CFX?🎹🎶

[@johndouglas7787]

@@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12 No I have not. Mine was built in 1986. Next time I am in a large piano store I will give one a try.

[@JayMSinger]

Wonderful performances! My brother in law just had his B rebuilt with a new non-Steinway sound board. It is incredibly (too) loud for the small room it inhabits. I do miss the thundering bass my M lacks, but it fills my music room perfectly. Thank you for this insightful video!

[@Beyondabsence]

Yes , I have a small living room and my Steinway M sounds perfectly balanced and full in it.

[@postmangibbons]

What a beautiful performance. Proud to be your student!

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Thank you so much. I enjoy teaching you!

[@Lion_McLionhead]

Always thought Steinway B's sound stuffy but they're in a lot of recordings. The Andre Watts liszt recordings were on a Steinway B. Emmanuel Ax's chopin recordings were on a Steinway B. My teacher had 9 foot Baldwins in a dedicated building.

[@hrobert745]

Very nice. I liked being able to see how you used the pedals. I’ve never seen the soft pedal used before, but probably the camera angle wasn’t right in other videos.

[@gc134]

Lovely sounding B. It sounds a lot like my own, rebuilt with Ronsen Wieckert hammers and WNG action with the Flex 2 shank. The keys were re/weighted during the process to remove some of the lead when my tech reworked the action geometry. Have you ever covered how you mix your pianos for videos? Your piano videos are the best on the internet anywhere by far. The sound is so natural as if the piano is in the room. The sound is always very representative of the male and model. Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Baldwin, Bosendorder, etc.

[@hrobert745]

How do you like the WNG action? I was considering rebuilding mine but at the moment I can’t afford it.

[@midnight4109]

Lots of pros and semi pros have more than 1 piano, and they differ. Many have at least one upright due to the intimacy of it. Full size grand pianos are intended for concert halls but may not be the most ideal piano for home or in a studio.

[@studentjohn35]

The late William Tritt had a rebuilt Steinway AIII as his practice instrument at home

[@stacerogers4008]

I’m always amazed when you pluck out these amazing pieces played from memory. Do you brush up on these or do you have an encyclopaedic memory bank of pieces stored. Very impressive either way 👍👍

[@LivingPianosVideos]

I initially learned the entire Debussy Children's Corner Suite (from which Golliwog's Cakewalk is the last movement) when I was 13 years old! I just learned the Mozart D Minor Fantasy since I started teaching it to students.

[@louisc.gasper7588]

Hmm. Well, it might have been said that American artists are likely to use New York Steinways, the rest of the world would have a Hamburg Steinway for choice. New York Steinway makes its own actions, Hamburg uses actions from Renner. Further, the felts in New York are radically different from Hamburg's, requiring radically different approaches to voicing. And then there are the American northeast pianists who for many decades preferred Baldwin. There are a lot more variables to appeal to many different criteria. For many years, until my wrist was crippled by injury, I had a Baldwin D10 at home. I first learned piano in Boston, and I was greatly helped by the Renner action. A friend purchased a Steinway B during the years New York used teflon. He didn't keep it. There are just so many things to consider; no particular piano is best for all.

[@clyneheretic]

Wonderful piano - but can it match the Bösendorfer Concert Grand 290 Imperial?

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Most homes can't accommodate the overwhelming volume a concert grand produces.

[@WarrenPostma]

Lang Lang gets one loaned to him by Steinway. Because Steinway doesn't want Yamaha to say "Yeah, Lang Lang has a Yamaha at home".

[@isayawhaat1634]

Currently I’m playing prelude in G Minor by Rachmaninoff and there’s one section where my teacher wants me to hold the bass notes to make them last longer but this keeps confusing me because why would I hold a not e that is already has pedal to in theary make it louder to be speafic were im mean in BAR 52 The ascending base note melody she wants me to stay on the note for a second before moving to the next one instead of stacato with pedal that I would imagine has the same effect anyway

[@waitingforapril]

Hm...I think thar sounds like good advice because I think you can hear a staccato through the pedal...it may not be as noticeable in some pianos, but I think it is good technique to be able to do legatos with fingers anyway? Good luck!

[@isayawhaat1634]

@@waitingforapril thank you

[@PatGoltz]

Hey, I have to tell you a story. Once upon a time a salesman approached Mr. Steinway, and asked, would you be willing to test our new part in the action of Steinway? Mr. Steinway said, Sure. So the man asked, How long a test will you need? Mr. Steinway replied, Oh, about 50 years.

[@MrSweelinck]

Steinway sizes: S - Small M - Medium O - Oooh A - Ample B - Big D - Dang Big

[@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12]

You forgot C🎹🎶

[@paulstremple5296]

How large must the room be for a “D”? Our music room is 22’ x 40’. Is it large enough for a Steinway D? Thanks Paul

[@eddydelrio1303]

Well it is my understanding that Steinway Artists are not permitted to have other brand pianos in their home (?). However, I purchased my Baldwin SF-10 (7') from "the wife of" a Steinway artist, who shall remain unidentified. :)

[@lufknuht5960]

What is the use of you playing samples? We won't be hearing your piano but a computer's amplier & speaker(s).

[@LivingPianosVideos]

The recordings are made with state-of-the-art Neumann microphones with ultra high quality 32-bit float recording. KZbin actually has very good audio if you listen back on decent speakers or headphones.

[@metteholm4833]

Another thing: If you can´t afford to own a house, but live in an older apartment with too soft spruce floors, it can be impossible to have a grand - and an intact floor. Crash! Practise communities with more or less well kept instruments are a good solution for the not so rich.

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Any floor that can support three or four adult men can support at least a baby grand piano.

[@lufknuht5960]

Isn't Steinway the only piano which a piano company supplies for a concerta? -- IMHO

[@moffac01]

Two fantasies? I thought there were three: K 396, 397 and 475.

[@sensoeirensen]

C. Bechstein Concert Grand > Steinway & Sons best.

[@robertallen5210]

Such a salesman.

[@rich5310]

DOSENT STEINWAY GIVE THEIR PIANOS AWAY TO GET PUBLICITY FROM CONCERT PIANIST ? IF THEY DIDNT I WONDER IF THEY WOULD CHOOSE STEINWAY

[@Dobermanator]

They have sponsorship, same way Nike sponsors golfers etc. I believe Steinway let's "their" Concert Pianists choose from a certain model, not a model range. The pianists are very picky so Steinway will give them let's say a Model A and will have the Pianist choose from a selection of Model A's to see which one they like the best. It's about play ability at that point.

[@g.970]

You are right. They do. Plus they sponsor pianists and then those pianists play their pianos. They also use to give pianos to Universities. So they really blitzed the market. But now you will sometimes see Fazzioli and Shigeru Kawai pianos being chosen by the professionals. Yamaha is usually for rock bands and recording artists. I just took delivery of a Shigeru 7’ and I love it. The inside rim is the most beautiful birds eye maple, hand crafted instrument. Only 300 made each year.

[@Visitkarte]

@@g.970 Fazzioli makes incredible pianos.

[@JA-zs7fw]

not well tuned

[@jpdj2715]

Congratulations about pronouncing Rachmaninoff - but that Deb Yoossey was a bit of a pity. Imagine De Bussy and the French "u" is pronounced like the German ü that you may know from "Für Elise". The De has its e pronounced like the e in the.