Making music with Steinway

If it is a grand piano, it has to be a Steinway. About 97 percent of concert performers cannot be wrong about their preferred choice of pianos. The sturdy, hand-crafted piano is known for its unrivalled sound and quality. In Mumbai too, there are many discerning artists for whom the Steinway is the best.

When Henry E Steinway founded Steinway & Sons in 1853, his rule was simple — build to a standard and not a price. “If people want the best in quality, they do not bother about the price,” says Anthony Gomes, partner, BX Furtados & Sons, popularly known as Furtados, who are the sole representative in India for Steinway & Sons.

And, it appears that people who appreciate music do want the best. One of the proud owners of a Steinway is Celeste Cordo, a music teacher and the conductor of the Newman Choir, the children’s choir Gleehives and the youth choir Cadenza Kantori. An accomplished pianist, Cordo bought her Steinway two years back. “I was not expecting to buy a Steinway, but when you play on one, it kind of spoils you. After that, you cannot think of any other piano,” she says, adding that she did think twice about investing in it.

Music runs in Cordo’s family: Her grandmother was a singer, her mother Ivy Fernandes still teaches piano at the age of 80, and her daughter Dawn plays classical piano.

Since getting the licence three years back, Furtados have sold around 10 Steinways and 40 Boston and Essex pianos (from the Family of Steinway Designed pianos (FoSDP) to individuals and institutions in India. Some of them include Kala Academy, Goa and Avadhoota Datta Peetham, Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Ashrama, Mysore.

Rossanna D’Cunha, senior brand manager (India), Steinway and a qualified pianist from Trinity College, London bought an Essex upright as the first step enroute to buying a Steinway. “It’s a beautiful piece of art and no two Steinways are alike. The voicer’s (a sound expert) paramount task is to ensure tonal individuality of each instrument,” she says. D’Cunha has been playing the piano since the age of nine, and hopes to buy a Steinway in the future if she has a daughter. Her first reaction on playing a Steinway piano was similar to what most Steinway artists’ felt — “an indescribable feeling”.

Each Steinway — grand and upright is handcrafted and built as per requirement. There are nine colours available, the ‘crown jewels’ and the pianos can be encrusted with diamond or precious stones too. The wood — be it birch, whitewood, maple, mahogany etc, is tropicalised so it suits the climate where it is sold.

“The frame of the piano is a single piece, it is patented. It consists of 19 layers of different types of wood pasted together and then pressure forced into the desired shape. This is done so that the sound moves uniformly,” adds Gomes. Once the order is placed, it takes around six months to deliver, depending upon the availability. Furtados has a certified Steinway technician who has been trained for a month about the specifics of Steinway maintenance.

Sound is what sets a Steinway apart from other pianos. And, who can be a better judge than a piano teacher to appreciate that quality? Patricia D’Cunha has been teaching piano on her trusted Broadwood piano for the past 40 years. “The output quality is better on a Steinway,” says this music lover, who played on a Steinway in Hong Kong. Full of praise for the tone of the piano, she admits that everything sounds good on a Steinway.

Pritish Gujral (name changed on request), a businessman wanted to do something special for his 40th birthday — so he bought himself a Steinway grand. “I wanted the best for my son and myself.  It is a pleasure to play on it,” says this father of a two-year-old who wants his son to learn the piano at an early age. Gujral’s wish of learning the piano came true in February this year.

The Steinway piano is a super-premium, luxury brand catering to a niche market. Prices for an upright piano start at Rs18 lakh, and for a grand start at Rs 39 lakh. As Gomes puts it, “You need to be discerning and able to appreciate quality to love a Steinway.”