In 1874, William Steinway wrote in his diary (pictured above) that the sostenuto pedal was splendid. But there has never been said any words in the piano industry that are more divisive than “But does it have a middle pedal?” Why are these words divisive? Because the middle pedal on the piano is the least used and yet most focused on in the piano industry. I’ve often told the story about one of the greatest jazz pianists in my city…… Read More
Cristofori, credited with the invention of the earliest pianos in the 1700’s also installed the “una corda” pedal into his pianos. Being Italian, the phrase “una corda” can be translated “one string”. How does “one string” translate into a pedal we also know as the soft pedal? … Read More
Arthur Rubenstein describes the sustain pedal as “the soul of the piano”. We’re going to delve into a bit more of the mechanical side of the damper pedal in hopes that awareness will clarify what happens when it is being incorporated into piano playing. … Read More
Many years ago, I remember seeing a piano in a museum similar to the one shown above (built in 1787 by Christian Gottlob Hubert. On display at Germanisches Nationalmuseum – Nuremberg, Germany). I have often wondered why acoustic portable pianos never really took off. Although we’ve seen more portable keyboard instruments like harpsichords, accordions or… Read More
This was the first year since covid that the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show was back to its regular January date and, in fact the first show where it felt back to normal. How was it? To answer that, I’m going quickly review the piano market over the last few years. Piano… Read More
Sonnova CG-M Grand Piano Piano Name: Sonnova Website: Sonnova Model: CG-M Coloratura Made in: China Parent Company: Caruso Piano Company Location: USA Height: 5-6″ History: Sonnova Piano is the newly established brand from Caruso Piano. Established in 1929, John Caruso started off in accordion sales and teaching. He established a very successful mail order business… Read More
Sonnova U48 Upright Piano Piano Name: Sonnova Website: Sonnova Model: U48 Made in: China Parent Company: Caruso Piano Company Location: USA Height: 48″ History: Sonnova Piano is the newly established brand from Caruso Piano. Established in 1929, John Caruso started off in accordion sales and teaching. He established a very successful mail order business in… Read More
I’ve heard this statement many times. In fact it happened when I was a young. The piano teacher states, “Your children are at a level now where it would be helpful to have them practice on a grand piano”. But is there any substance to this statement? Is there validity in upgrading to a grand… Read More
Piano Name: Ritmuller Website: Ritmuller Model: RS125 Made in: China Parent Company: Guangzhou Pearl River Piano Group Ltd. Company Location: China Height: 50″ History: Located in Guangzhou, China, Pearl River Piano Group has become the largest piano manufacturer in the world, with a production of over 140,000 pianos annually by more than 4,000 workers. PRPG… Read More
Wyman WG185 Grand Piano Piano Name: Wyman Website: Wyman Model: WG185 Made in: China Parent Company: Wyman Piano Company Company Location: USA Length: 6′ 1″ History: Established by two former Baldwin executives Tim Laskey and George Benson in 2002. Although a relatively new company, all pianos are manufactured by Beijing Hsinghai Piano Group in China… Read More
