Not only did my father love to play, he also loved music history. I’ve always wanted to do a post like this on notable pianos and compare their features. I have finally gotten the time to put one together.

In my earlier post I mentioned having heard a recording of the piano used by Beethoven. My mother has recordings on LP of two Beethoven Sonatas and several of his Bagatelles done on this piano. I think the Bagatelles really show the quality of this instrument at its best, but I can’t locate a recording to post here. However, I did come upon another recording done on this piano. The piano has very different sound because instead of felt, the hammers use leather. Here is a brief description of the Beethoven piano quoted from the YouTube URL of the recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 1:

“Uploaded on Nov 18, 2011
Piano Concerto No 1 in C Major, op. 15 (1798)
by Ludwig van Beethoven
1. Movement “Allegro con brio”
Erich Appel, piano
Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Robert Seiler
HISTORICAL RECORDING with the original Beethoven piano

The most treasured item in the Beethoven Collection in Bonn is the last piano that Beethoven used from 1823 until his death in 1827.
The present recording was made after the piano was restored in 1965.
Since it has not longer been allowed to use the piano since that time, this recording is truly a unique document.

In 1965 the Beethoven House in Bonn decided to send one of its most sacred relicts to Nuremberg to have it restored by the firm of J.C. Neupert: this was the Graf piano to which Beethoven had entrusted his final musical thoughts, and which had become unplayable.

For a brief moment, unique production facilities were made available to Colosseum, and these were then gradually put to good use by the best artists and technicians. Elly Ney, long since a legend in her own lifetime, was reluctant to be parted from the instrument and captured a few particularly famous pieces on it for posterity (COL 9013.2), while her younger colleague Erich Appel, in the few hours during which he too was allowed to touch the hallowed keys, recorded Beethoven’s Bagatelles op. 33 and the Piano Concerto no. 1 op. 15, in which he was accompanied by the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra with Robert Seiler conducting.

The long-playing records that carried this event into the outer world have since, of course, been digitalised and reissued on CD because on closer examination this historic encounter belongs to the category of “world cultural heritage”. We can still today sense the aura of sanctity emanating from Beethoven’s instrument and the reverence with which those involved approached this treasure in order to catch an echo of sounds that have vanished beyond recall.”

Here’s the music. Enjoy .

First Movement Piano Concerto 1, Beethoven (caution lengthy orchestral intro):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAJAC4Joets

Second Movement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfMfLpfVYIU

Third Movement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFQ_XAZmlC4

Somewhere I have a CD of recordings of piano works by Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar that were made on 1890s Steinway. What struck me most was the wonderful singing voice of this 1890’s Steinway concert grand. This is the late 19th century Steinway I mentioned earlier. I couldn’t find this particular recording on line. However, I was able to locate a recording on an 1890’s Steinway of John Lennon’s/Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday”. The voice of the piano is close to the voice on the Steinway on the Stenhammar recording. The pianistic arrangement of “Yesterday” may not be everyone’s interpretation of the song, but it reveals the piano’s voice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q81V8vOO15M

Here is an account of the history of the Steinway piano. The video also shows the evolution of the sound of the piano form 1853 to today’s very clear sound. All this shows how much the piano has changed as an instrument from Beethoven’s time. There are two manufacturers of Steinways. Steinway and Sons in New York which makes pianos for the US market, and Steinway and Sons in Hamburg, Germany which makes pianos for the world market. This video shows the overall history of the Steinway and the Hamburg manufacturer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMT4rfjeJko

This video shows the New York Steinway and Sons manufacturing facility:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAInt7hIZlU

If the Steinway is the King of Pianos, then the Bösendorfer is the Emperor of Pianos. It is a deeper, richer sound. Founded in 1828 Bösendorfer is one of oldest piano makers. A distinguishing feature of the Bösendorfer is the extension of the typical 88 key keyboard to 92 keys on some models and to 97 keys on the Imperial Concert Grand. This innovation was initiated by composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni in 1909 for a custom piano. This would enable Busoni to transcribe an organ piece that extended to the C below the standard 88 key keyboard. This extended keyboard is the distinguishing feature of the Bösendorfer, (although Bösendorfer makes pianos with 88 keys too). The extra strings for the extended keyboard vibrate in sympathy with the other strings giving this piano its powerful solid tone. The extra keys at the end of the low register are sometimes painted black (including the white keys) or covered with a plate when not need to keep the pianist from accidentally hitting them. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6sendorfer

“Music written to include rich harmonic colorations, such as bebop, often calls for the player to sound the upper parts of a musical chord’s harmonic series (3rds, 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths, for example) without playing the fundamental pitch. In these cases, it is up to the listener’s ear to “replace” the missing fundamental. When such music is played on a large Bösendorfer, however, the additional strings generate, albeit at low volume, the fundamental by vibrating sympathetically with the played notes, contributing further to the fullness of the sound. The extra strings’ contribution to classical music is typically more subtle, as compositions in that literature typically do not omit the fundamental, at least for long.

The rim of a Bösendorfer grand piano is built quite differently from that of all other grands. Instead of veneers bent around a form, the rim is made in solid sections of spruce and jointed together. Spruce is better at transmitting sound than reflecting it. This is perhaps why Bösendorfers tend to have a more delicate treble and a bass that features the fundamental tone more than the higher harmonics.[3] There are also two other features of Bösendorfers, that are shared with only a few other piano brands. One is a removable capo d’astro bar in the treble, which facilitates rebuilding of the instrument and, Bösendorfer says, provides greater acoustic separation from the plate, decreasing tonal absorption. The other is single-stringing, providing each string its own individual hitch pin on the plate instead of connecting it to a neighboring string. This design may slightly improve tuning stability and is an advantage in case of string breakage . . . Among the earliest artists to be associated with Bösendorfer was Franz Liszt who at least once opined that Bösendorfer and Bechstein pianos were the only instruments capable of withstanding his tremendously powerful playing. The renowned twentieth-century American composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein has also performed on a Bösendorfer.”

Here is a demo of the Bösendorfer The Emperor Concert Grand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTjInJLiYRw

In the next video, pianist Robert Estrin describes the most expensive piano in the world the, Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand. The write-up for this YouTube clip reads –

“The Bösendorfer Imperial Grand piano is regarded as the preeminent piano in the world with a new price approaching $200,000. Hand made in Austria, the piano has an incredible sound throughout. It also features 97 keys and goes down to C below the usual low A on an ordinary piano. Pianists from Franz Liszt to Oscar Peterson have chosen Bösendorfer as their instrument. This piano is in immaculate condition inside and out. It is regulated and voiced to the highest possible level. The instrument was in a home and not played a great deal. Everything is original including the perfect, real key tops. If you are looking for the ultimate piano, this is it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3bo3Uv5u9E

An example of the highest level of craftsmanship in piano making is this building of Bösendorfer’s 50,000th piano:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy3rkZbAedc

Here is another video on the Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik manufacturing process. In this video several artists in the classical and jazz genres explain why they are partial to the Bösendorfer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaSgLU1O4IU

Which better piano Steinway or Bösendorfer? Direct comparisons between pianos is difficult. Much depends on the acoustics of the room, the skill of the pianist and the recording of the sound. And each piano is unique with its own voice. Here is one comparison of the Steinway concert grand vs the Bösendorfer. The pure clear sound vs the richer deeper sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTt03E-uKK8

This is a brief write-up on the differences in tone:

http://pianotuner.co.za/bosendorfer-vs-steinway-tone/

If you enjoyed the docu-drama “Farewell” and you are music lover, you will certainly enjoy this documentary on the life of my favorite composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff was one of the Steinway Artists. This movie features his music mostly on the Steinway; however, there are several scenes where the Bösendorfer is used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi3MU9JnL7E

By the way, Rachmaninoff also has a very unique connection to aviation. He gave financial aid to Igor Sikorsky and Sikorsky’s fledgling aircraft company when it was in dire need. Igor Sikorsky became a close friend of Rachmaninoff, and Rachmaninoff was also the first vice president for Sikorsky Aircraft.

http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/Igor_Sikorsky_&_Sergei_Rachmaninoff.php

Though Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Steinway Artist, he had this comment: “There are only two things which I took with me on my way to America…my wife and my precious Blüthner”.

The Steinway is the King, the Bösendorfer is the Emperor, however the Blüthner piano with the golden tone had an imperial following in Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and the Czar. The Beatles were also fond of the Blüthner in the Abbey Road Studios.

According your June 5, 2010 article on the Hindenburg piano, Associate Press Reporter Louis P Lochner had commented that this piano had a particularly large and full tone. The feature that gives the Blüthner this golden tone is the aliquot stringing invented by Julius Blüthner in 1873. This is a 4th string which is not struck by the hammer, but resonates in sympathy with the other strings, giving the tone depth. The Hindenburg piano would certainly have had this. This article describes aliquot stringing in more detail:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliquot_stringing

Here is a brief history of the Blüthner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWMl7a2ZT6c

These young artists thoroughly demo the scope and the power of this piano at the Blüthner Golden Tone Award 2013 Semifinals in Vienna:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV002CQtxQI

The aliquot stringing of the Blüthner works particularly well in lower volume works such as nocturnes and the German lieder. Therefore, the Hindenburg Blüthner was, I think, perfectly suited to Ernst Lehmann’s repertoire.

To demonstrate what I mean here are the following examples –

Pianist Robert Estrin giving an overview of a restored 1900 Blüthner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSXu4v2uvLU

Here is one of my favorite pieces, Chopin’s Nocturne in E minor, performed on a restored 1909 Blüthner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KoKIGEtVrM

This excerpt from German romantic composer Franz Schubert’s sonata, the B Flat Major Sonata D960, Second Movement Andante Sustenuto (which starts off in C sharp minor) is a truly perfect example of the Blüthner’s golden tone especially in the singing passage starting at about 1:10 min and the stately passage about 3:58 min into this video. Make sure your best audio headphones are on for this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMObNWpgBgg

More on this composition by Schubert:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schubert's_last_sonatas

http://www.franzpeterschubert.com/sonata_d_960.html

Does any one here know the piece she is playing??? would love to find out! 🙂 thank you. and looking forward to hearing from you.

If one didn’t know which piano it was, one would never guess it was an aluminum piano at all. Such a lovely sounding instrument, although I freely admit I’m a sucker for anything on piano…