Steinway Pianos vs. Other Pianos in Touch and Tone
September 22nd, 2009 ~ Yoori Marti
In 2001, I was struggling to practice and teach on an entry level baby grand. I had purchased a very inexpensive mass produced piano right out of a box (meaning no regulation, but I was ignorant). Soon after the piano got delivered, I was faced with stress from malfunctioning piano problems arising just from normal usage. I also had the headache of having to deal with a large out of pocket cost and daily to weekly calls to my technicians to fix issues including ringing damper, loose hammer pins, and sticky keys among many others.
Once I went back to school for my piano performance degree a few years later, I had to face the fact that I needed a better piano, soon. I looked around everywhere for a long time, and to make a long story short (I will write about my piano shopping experience on another entry), I fell in love with a Steinway grand piano model L (5′11″) in the finish Macassar Ebony. It sounds heavenly and plays great, and I’ve been so happy with my decision to purchase the Steinway L, and so are my students. Today I want to write about why I like the touch and tone of Steinway pianos from my own experience.
No other piano comes close to Steinway pianos in creating the diversity of color and depth. The dynamic range expands from ppp to fff with uncharacteristic ease for me as well as for my little students. I love being able to create subtle nuances, and I can be as expressive as I want. Vladimir Ashkenazy said, “Steinway is the only piano on which the pianist can do everything he wants. And everything he dreams.” I cannot put it better than that.
In terms of touch, there is such a nice “cushiness,” a crisp, chunky feel to the keys as my fingers land and push down onto them. I have an extremely sensitive touch, and my fingers feel as if they are getting a luxurious round of exercises on a bed of delicious, firm yet foamy ivories.
Every pianist wants a beautiful sounding piano with a huge palette and a sensitive, precise action, and a Steinway piano grants the piano lover the level of perfection that one only dreams of in his or her musical instruments.
I am grateful to own my perfect Steinway piano, and it is a privilege to play on them at Steinway Hall Dallas/Fort Worth/Plano. I cannot think of a better place to be as a musician than a room filled with 100 magnificent, shiny Steinway pianos….
yoori