We’ve just taken a new Grotrian-Steinweg grand into stock and it is awesome! It’s the Model “Cabinet” which is 192cm (6’3”) in length. I saw examples of this instrument when I was over visiting the factory in Braunschweig, Germany. It’s the most popular of the range as it offers probably the best trade-off between size and cost – it’s certainly the best “compromise” I have heard for a long time. It goes without saying that the quality of design, materials and construction is right up there with the very best, but the way this instrument sings is something else. This is the very instrument that received such rave reviews in the press.
As it happened, I had a client who had been waiting to try this instrument for some time. He just couldn’t contain himself any longer and insisted that he come in to try it over. Normally, I wouldn’t tune a piano until after it had settled down in its new home, a process which usually takes around two to three weeks or so, depending on particular circumstances. Despite the piano having only been on our floor for three days, I spent a happy hour giving the Grotrian its first tuning. The piano responded exceptionally well and initial indications are that the tuning stability of this instrument is exceptionally good. This is an aspect of a piano’s performance that is often overlooked and I’ll be coming back to this subject again.
As to my customer, he was bowled over by the piano and has gone away to present the case for purchase to his partner…