Are Estonia Grands the Piano World's Best-kept Secret?
Author: The Collaborative Piano Blog
When the first Estonia pianos made their way to Vancouver in the mid-90's, I was immediately struck by the unique quality of tone on the pianos that I tried. An article in Sunday's Columbus Dispatch looks at the story of these Talinn-made instruments, sold for a fraction of the price of their Steinway competitors.
Does anyone have any experience with owning an Estonia over time? Your comments are welcome as to how these instruments grow and change through the years. One of the important things about purchasing pianos is not only how they sound in the showroom but how the instrument's mechanism stands up to years of playing.
Read more
Estonia Pianos Vs Steinway & Sons
Author: The Collaborative Piano Blog
Probably a lot of you have, and on the other hand many others haven’t heard of the new kid on the block - The Estonia Piano.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, last year the Estonia Piano Factory in Tallinn exported 300 pianos both grands and baby grands, most of them to the united states. Chris Foley Points out that it would be interesting and important to know how these piano age. Sounding wonderful in a show room is one thing - sounding great after a few years is quite a different matter.
Read more
A Fine Way to Treat... an Estonia.
Author: Forbes
Bright-and-brash-sounding pianos might be the norm, but the still little-known Estonia piano is making sweet noise with Old World parlor grands.
The Russian-born Dmitry Sitkovetsky, a world-class violinist, and his American wife, the light soprano Susan Roberts, are consummate classical musicians who demand the best. Sitkovetsky performs on his very own Stradivarius, for example, an instrument built in 1717 and worth over $3 million. But that’s precisely why a visitor to their London town house can’t help noticing the grand piano sitting in their living room is no German Steinway, Bechstein or Bösendorfer. It’s an Estonia.
Six years ago Sitkovetsky and his wife walked into a top London piano dealership looking for a piano that could accompany their rehearsals at home. "There was this piano that sounded good," recalls Sitkovetsky, immediately struck by the Estonia’s tone, "and the price was certainly competitive to the more famous brands, which sometimes don’t quite deliver what you expect. This is a very good working piano."
Since then other music industry insiders–such as Grammy nominee Marc-André Hamlin–have picked up on word-of-mouth and discovered the high-quality piano. Says Neeme Järvi, chief conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra: "It is one of the best-kept secrets in piano making today."
Read more