Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Can we talk about Steingraeber for a moment?

I owned two "plain vanilla" Steingraebers -- the C-212 (7 foot) and D-232 (7 foot 7 inches). Both were spectacular, especially the D-232.

That's why I would be interested in your comparisons with Fazioli and Bosensdorfer. To be specific, though facile, how would you rate them for clarity and resonance?

I first played a Steingraeber in 1998 and have done several times since then. They are extraordinary pianos with a distinct voice, and the highest level of craftsmanship.

Introducing a moderator onto a piano isn’t really innovative but I like some of the other things. The Mozart rail is a nice idea, this concept was actually introduced to them by Richard Dain who’d been doing it on his own Bösendorfers for quite some time. Fazioli pianos have a similar but not identical thing with their fourth pedal except while the Fazioli pedal lifts the hammers closer to the string, it doesn’t alter the touch depth.

The coloured damper heads are a good idea, and the lighter more reflective lid is a nice innovation too. Other makers do have some similar ideas so we will see how it catches on over time. Nice pianos regardless of these innovations.

Just got back from a concert at the Wigmore Hall - Sir Andras Schiff playing Haydn on a fortepiano (McNulty copy of a Walter). Hearing Schiff's subtle use of the moderator has been a revelation.

Possibly some of us is interested in the article:
https://www.pianistmagazine.com/new...sed-as-one-of-the-brands-of-the-century/
The virtual tour on Steingraber website is also a nice exploration
https://www.steingraeber.de/en/about-us/virtual-tour/

Honestly, my observations about Bosendorfer and Fazioli aren't worth the pixels. Early in my search for the first acoustic piano, I played nearly everything on the market, and my choice boiled down to pianos by Fazioli, Grotrian, and Steingraeber. I loved the clarity of the Steingraeber sound, especially the clarity of the top two octaves, and -- especially in the D-232 -- the beautifully dark richness of the lower register.

Fazioli makes an amazing piano, and perhaps the action is to be preferred over anything else now available. I've loved listening to the tone color of some Bosendorfers I've heard.

I moved on to a Steinway Hamburg/Astoria "hybrid" rebuild a few years ago because I loved (and still love) that particular piano, for which I had to trade in my D-232. But there were qualities of that wonderful Steingraeber that I've never heard in any other piano.

Here is a nice demonstration of both the Mozart rail and the sordino on a Steingraeber concert grand. http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...zart-rail-demonstration.html#Post3199653

Never mind Bosendorfer and Fazioli, you have put your finger on precisely the two points I had in mind.

As you may know Richard Dain puts thin soundboards into the Steingraeber bodies of his Phoenix pianos at Hurstwood Farm in Kent. He had two ten year old E-272s side by side there last autumn, one had a spruce soundboard the other carbon fibre. The sound of both was as you describe. Richard has always had Uwe Steingraeber modify the bodies he supplies. I suspect one or two of the mods made their way into your D-232.

About your switch to a Steinway. Some years ago Jürg Hanselmann put recordings on YouTube of his Romance on a Steingraeber and on a Steinway. When I asked him which he preferred, he said it depended on his mood or the weather.

Gombessa, the OP, is off to try Faziolis, Bosendorfers and Steingraebers. Let's see if the final choice is one of each.

If I choose one piano, chances are I can move it into our home. If I choose three, I'll probably have to fit all of them into a studio apartment....

One thing I find amazing is the "relative youth" of the Steingraeber brand, meaning they went from an almost invisible firm in the 80's/90's to constantly being in the top 5 or top 10 of modern manufacturers. You would almost believe they've been one of the top dogs for decades judging by their reputation.

Youth is indeed relative, Yojimbo. Steingraeber has been around since 1852, and havebuilt only about 40,000 piano in all that time. I don't think they began being known in the U. S. until the early 2000's. I had never heard of them before I saw their pianos at the NAMM show in 2000 in Anaheim. I was hugely impressed with the tone and quality of the instrument.

I like your moniker, Yojimbo. You must be a Kurosawa fan. (Me too). Great film, and a great cast - Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Tatsuya Nakadai, and others

I actually heard about Phoenix Piano before I heard about Steingraeber (due to press about their carbon fiber soundboard). And as I kind of expect a music student plopped in front of a piano that doesn't have "Steinway" "Baldwin" or "Yamaha" on the fallboard, the name just completely glossed me by. I probably assumed it was some Chinese stencil brand trying its best to capitalize on sounding like "Steinway and Sons." I'll be honest, I only really learned about them at the beginning of this year when I started getting serious about shopping for an acoustic. So I totally believe that they are still generally unknown in a lot of markets.

That I am, a Kurosawa fan. But the name I took mostly because of fond memories playing Final Fantasy X.


I'm sure Steingraeber is still a small name relative to S&S and Yamaha and many others. But I'm amazed at their fame and reputation in relation to how few pianos they have actually made, and how short a time they have sat in the top markets, especially the concert grand market. I hear more people talk about them than say, Grotrian or Seiler, who were two of the biggest german manufacturers during the 70's-90's.

The answer to Yojimbo's question is somewhere in this year by year history of Steingraber: https://www.steingraeber.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/History-of-the-manufacturers-ENG-2020.pdf


Here are Jürg Hanselmann's recording of his romance I mentioned yesterday:

STEINGRAEBER E-272


STEINWAY D-274

When I was growing up in Chicago many decades ago, the top venues offered nine-foot pianos by Steinway, Baldwin, and Boesendorfer. I wonder what’s packed in those lockers now?

I feel like there is more variety now in performance worthy 9ft+ concert grands than ever before (or is it that the players just change over time)?

Thanks very much for this.

Ian,

Thank you for posting the videos. A lovely piece and performances. I understand the comments about the clarity in the upper octaves of the Steingraeber. Beautifully pure and clean without sounding hollow or thin.

There is a warm familiarity to the Steinway sound which is almost comforting in its own way. That said, from these examples, my preference would be Steingraeber. I hope to experience one in person someday.

Lovely performances by Herr Hanselmann. I found the bass on the Steingraeber more immediate and better balanced than the Steinway bass. The treble on the Steingraeber, on the other hand, could have been brighter. Given how Hanselmann in each bar was able to bring out the right hand melody against a subdued ornamentation (1-2-5 fingering, or 1-3-5), on either of the instruments, it appears the actions are about the same. On the whole, the sound was very similar between these instruments, but the Steingraeber has a slight advantage. I would have a very hard time deciding between the two without playing a lot of other repertoire.

Yes, and they offer factory tours on the first Thursday of every month. Now that the corona situation is improving (at least the rules are being relaxed), I will stop by there in the foreseeable future. A good hour's drive from where I am. Just have to find out whether you have to register in advance (which I suspect). I’m very excited.