For those looking for a serious, high-quality, professional sounding piano, you better brace yourself because you will be spending a lot of money. Entry level pianos are not that expensive, and with keyboards anyone can learn to play the piano. However, not everyone can have a concert level piano. These cost serious amounts of money. One of the best piano companies in the world is Steinway & Sons, and they make some truly amazing instruments. Hearing music being played on one of these takes your breath away.
Steinway & Sons is both and American and a German piano company that was founded in 1853. Heinrich Steinweg was a German immigrant who started building pianos in 1835. He eventually moved himself and his large family (minus his eldest son who stayed in Germany to continue to build pianos under the family name) to Manhattan and opened up “Steinway and Sons”. It only took two years until the world realized that they produced some of the finest pianos. Today the company is known throughout the world as the prominent piano manufacturer. It is difficult to get a quote on their pianos, but a new one costs anywhere between $25,000 to $200,000 depending on the model. One of their more expensive baby grand pianos is the Louis XV.
Costing around $120,000 dollars the Louis XV piano is a serious investment. This piano is perfect for a house. Normal grand pianos can be around eight feet in length and between five and six feet in width. The Louis XV, a baby grand piano, is much smaller at only 5’7″ in length. A new Steinway takes about a year to produce, as it is all done meticulously by hand. This piano is made from a variety of different woods including an east indian rosewood veneer, walnut legs, spruce braces, sugar spine ribs, a Sitka spruce soundboard, and walnut and mahogany internals. These pianos are works of art, and there are only a few other companies that make pianos sound this good. The piano itself is light for a piano weighing 560 pounds, as some can easily way over 1,000 pounds. Steinways are the Rolls-Royces of the piano world; they really are some of the best. If you are interested in buying one of these then its a difficult process as new Steinways are produced in limited numbers and they are hard to find. Used Steinways are a little more affordable depending on the year, however some of the ones made in the late 1800’s cost even more than their new ones as they are so rare.
Photo from steinway.com
