Rare Climatized 1952 Hamburg Steinway O

[@ryanh779]

I enjoy your content you play beautifully

The Scarlatti pieces were great! ¡Bravo Señor! Good post!

[@myuncle2]

I had forgotten how beautiful is Scarlatti sonata k380, thank you!

[@topturretgunner]

Very nice Pavel. The tone and character of that Hamburg Steinway are rich and warm. Seems like a delightful piano to play. Thank you for this great video.

[@avsystem3142]

In the music department of the local community college here in the high desert of Northwestern New Mexico the various grand pianos are covered with a heavy cover when not in use and there is an electric humidifier installed inside the pianos. It can be extremely dry here, a few months ago I saw the weather report was stating a 7% humidity! It is not necessarily that dry inside buildings but the humidity can still vary significantly seasonally.

[@robertreidman9545]

I love your renditions of Scarlatti. Fun, Lively and smart!

[@ThePianoforever]

Thank you kindly!

[@The_Smith]

That was a fun video, I think I may have mentioned once (or 77) times before I love these under the hood videos. I can just picture one of these climatized pianos in a passenger lounge in SS Normandie. (and pass thanks on to DC Pianos from your viewers for letting you shoot these for us)

[@classicalpianomusic0731]

Thanks for the excellent description of what constitutes a climatized Steinway. It is easy on the ears to listen to. I am curious whether anyone who has played/listened to a number of Steinway O's has found any appreciable differences in sound between the climatized O's and non-climatized O's. Thanks and cheers!

[@kourtneylehman410]

Lovely piano and great to hear it. Your music is very moving and really great to listen to. It makes my day brighter when I get to listen to you play. Thanks 😊

[@pamelaarescurrinaga8201]

I really enjoyed the 2nd Scarlotti piece you played - seemed as though you liked that one, also. Most interesting and informative video; 1952, America was into trying new, forward-looking technologies.

[@johnweller1423]

What a really cool Steinway, hmmm 🤔 wonder if it would survive Florida humidity. Great musical choices as well. 😀 🎹 🎶

[@robertveal7187]

Enjoyed your presentation 👍👏👌

[@ThePianoforever]

Thanks a lot

[@SpaghettiKillah]

The tone on this piano has so much "character" Love it!

[@moldenburg909]

Gosh didn’t even know there was something like climatized piano. I learn every time something new here. Thank you for showing the how and why it is called that way. And it’s voice is beautiful. Deep and sparky. Beautiful. I like it. What I also liked was your playing of the cavatine and the Scarlatti (two in fact). Nicely done. Thank you for sharing and playing.

[@djysmallman2183]

A Hamburg you say? The desk, fall font and square arms on it tell me otherwise! Interesting.

[@rikspector]

James, Horowitz played a piano with a lite action and a shallow key dip. He sat upright somewhat away from the keyboard, and did not curve his fingers greatly, in fact it looked like he often used the pads of his finger.. You have a very clean sound which was Horowitz style and no matter what he played ,every single note could be heard. . From listening it seemed to me that he would emphasize different elements of the compositions each time he played and in the spacing between notes..it was never the same. I really enjoyed your demonstration of this Steinway ,but I personally like a warmer upper register. I believe you made the same comment previously. Cheers, Rik Spector

[@bryduhbikeguy]

Perhaps they built these to entice Cruise lines to buy them for their ships?Love the videos,and your playing as you test,and demonstrate all the different pianos and keyboards you find.Thank you.

[@MostEasterlySteve]

Lovely sounding Steinway. Interesting that it's Hamburg because it has New York side panels (squared profile - Hamburgs are curved).

[@bw2082]

Yes I was about to say that too

[@ThePianoforever]

@MostEasterlySteve I believe that because it is a "Climatized" piano they squared the sides so the wood veneers would be less likely to become separated from the piano. You will also note that the small veneers on the legs were screwed as well as the veneer on top of the rim. If they left the rounded corners in the front they might have come lose in a humid environment. I am thinking they didn't want to place screws in the front of the piano.

[@johnp.1460]

That piano sounds absolutely gorgeous! DC Piano is a great resource here in the bay area.

[@2468tom2468]

The piano hinge looks to have been made in sections similar to some Yamaha’s to allow for expansion also!

[@possisvideos]

funny. i own a 1952 hamburg steinway o. but in mahagony color. love it.

[@horaciomillan4181]

Very interesting and instructive. I had heard that pianos tend to be very out of tune in ships due to the humidity at sea. This should solve it in part at least.

[@tanincollins2143]

Great review! I found it interesting - is the climate resistant Steinway actually effective? I haven't seen that design in many other pianos, but I know many pianos sold in temperate areas use white instead of black so as to avoid absorbing the heat. Also, what is the first piece you played on the piano? I love it!

[@amascia8327]

Climitization doesn't seem to have hurt it at all. 👍🏼🤠

[@tedphillips2501]

A friend has a Steinway with a case with incredible inlay decoration. He acquired it on the condition it would be in a constant humidity controlled environment. Would it be unlikely we wouldn't find a climatized piano with inlay work? (Great video).

[@gerardvila4685]

My first thought: "Putting an AC inside a piano? Is that really a good idea?"

[@bobbyvox2352]

Thank you James for all your great content. You said “plastic”in reference to keys. A 1952 piano would be ivory would it not?🤔

[@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12]

What are waterfall keys and how are they different from normal keys?🎹🎶

[@ThePianoforever]

They are rounded on the ends and are one piece instead of two.

[@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12]

@@ThePianoforever thanks I'm not able to see them so I don't know what they look like Thanks for the info and nice playing🎹🎶

[@ThePianoforever]

Traditional piano keytops are made of two pieces - the front, and the top. These are glued on to the wooden key, with the key top having a lip that juts out over the front of the key. Waterfall keys, like you'd find on a Hammond organ, are made of one piece, a curved piece of plastic that is both the key top and the key front. Hope this is helpful!

[@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12]

@@ThePianoforever thanks it is🎹🎶

[@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12]

@@ThePianoforever I've not encountered a Hammond organ yet🎹🎶

[@randygreenwood1096]

Does it have different strings to prevent them from rusting?

[@88mixture88]

I wasn't aware of such a Steinway. It seems well suited for Brazil. But is it suited for a dry climate that has 25% or less humidity?

[@ThePianoforever]

I don't think there would be any negatives with this in a dry climate, but it would help to use a humidifier in such a climate. A stable 40% is good for pianos.

[@vincentlam4620]

he looks like the guy from good burger Kurt

[@judsonmusick3177]

James, are you sure this is a Hamburg Steinway? The "arms" of this piano (i.e., the ends of the piano’s rim that flank the cheekblocks and the keys) are squared off, while the arms of Hamburg Steinways are rounded.

[@ThePianoforever]

It is likely that the arms have been modified to ensure the stability of the veneer. Other panels of the piano have screws holding them on, this would have been difficult to do with a curved veneer. Also, modern New York Steinways can have rounded arms and a wooden interior rim, so it is now impossible to tell the difference at a glance between New York and Hamburg Steinways

[@peaceofkake1085]

I'm just curious, is there such a thing as an acoustic piano that doesn't use wood?

[@ThePianoforever]

Some pianos use carbon fiber and composite materials for the action, others use carbon fiber for the soundboard. There are some whose cases are made of plexiglass, like Blüthner's Crystal Piano, but I do not know of one single piano that contains no wooden components.

[@n3on_face659]

What's the name of the first song?

[@ThePianoforever]

Cavatine by Eduard Schutt.

[@robertflynn6686]

I am not sure if pianos can actually be climatized .Meet the skeptic!! You love pianos i see that. Did you ever play the song: the land that time forgot. You might have sing it too! The pianos have a harpsichordic sound too so it might not sound right. your ok. Ps the newest Yamaha grands are electronic and can do recording etc