cheeeeee We both liked this special edition the best. The action was smooth and buttery (right word?). We were told that the inside was gold plated. It was priced at a quarter million euros!

Amazing, thanks for sharing your experience!

That special edition is the Secession, one of my favorites in the Collector's Editions, a very understated design.
https://www.boesendorfer.com/en/pianos/collectors-item/secession

There's a great video of the production here:

and the full performance by Dora Deliyska here:

I'm so jealous 🙂

      HeartKeys in my local Steinway dealer, I went inside. Played a few new Steinways. When that asked me what I thought, I stated I didn't like the tone of those specific ones. His response, "oh! but we can change the tone!" (verbatim).

      The local Steinway dealer is run by the former manager of the Bösendorfer dealer. He decided to tell me all about how Bösendorfers are not suited for concert halls after learning that I have one, plus lots of other nonsense. I doubt he was saying all that stuff at his old job!

      All of the new Steinways in the showroom sounded completely unvoiced and muffled and he said they could be voiced to suit your taste after you bought. The store is in a wealthier area of town and I wonder how many people buy a Steinway for their kid just for the prestige.

          twocats The local Steinway dealer is run by the former manager of the Bösendorfer dealer.

          As an interesting aside, I've been to three separate piano dealers locally where the person talking to me said they used to be the #1 sales rep for Bosendorfer in the US, and they all had pictures/plaques to show to prove it. As part of their pitch they all told me why they moved on from selling Bosendorfer to X/Y/Z brand, and how they felt that Bosendorfer just couldn't compete because of A/B/C.

          No hate, nothing against them or even criticism--learly it didn't really matter to me or affect my purchase decision-- it was just odd and memorable to me how this could be such a common theme. Is there something that explains it (maybe Bosendorfer had a bigger sales network a few decades back and everyone was part of it) or have other folks run into the same thing while piano shopping?

              Seeker I've really enjoyed reading about your experiences in Vienna. The love you have for your son, and the love the two of you have for pianos are beautiful to me. As to the specifics of management attitudes at Bosendorfer vs Steinway, I don't know enough to be sure, but my gut says this is not the same everywhere. I wonder, e.g., if visiting Steinway in Hamburg would be the same. Last, for now, is your comment about the Hamburg D being brighter than NY: again, I wouldn't generalize. I've played Hamburg D's that were not bright and were very nice. I suspect the that it was a matter of prep and taste. How did the action feel to your son vs the pianos at his school? Thanks again for your reminisce.

              So glad to hear that you enjoyed reading my stories! I agree completely that our different experiences at the Steinway Hall vs the Bösendorfer Salon in Vienna do not necessarily reflect different brand cultures. Back in the States, the Steinway dealerships that we visited - one within 1 hour drive and the other 4 hour drive - were both pretty down to earth, where we were left alone to play whatever we wanted. Between the two concert grands that my son played, the Steinway sounded brighter, but there is no doubt to me that they were both beautiful instruments, just different! I’ll write about the concerts we later went back to attend when I get a chance. My son’s comments on the pianos were very much holistic, it’s great, that’s ok, I like this one the best, etc 😂 It’s hard to get anything specific out of him. The ones I tried at Bösendorfer all had amazingly smooth and responsive actions.

                  Pallas In the 3rd shop, they tossed me the keys and let me play anything. I played the Yamaha CFX concert grand, a vintage Steinway with real ivory keys, and a conservatory Bosendorfer, among others. I bought my acoustic piano from the 3rd store,

                  This is the winning business model! We have been lucky with our “local” Steinway stores. One store even gave us a free piano floor template.

                    Gombessa Thank you for sharing the information about this special edition piano! It’s interesting to know the origins of the design ideas. It’s such an elegant piano, and plays beautifully.

                      cheeeeee The ones I tried at Bösendorfer all had amazingly smooth and responsive actions.

                      I have found them so too. Have you ever played a Shigeru-Kawai, one of the larger ones? They too, IMO, though some find them a bit "heavy", while I find them "buttery", are extraordinarily smooth and responsive.

                          Seeker

                          I agree with this. One of the hallmarks I've found with Bosendorfer actions is that they are all amazingly meticulous in touch, extremely consistent, and beautifully light. It's probably the most consistent brand I've tried yet when it comes to action feel.

                          I've had a Kawai and have played many, including an SK-EX being prepped for a concert venue. Great actions, and on the whole I'd say they are indeed a little heavier than Bosendorfers, and not at all in a bad way.

                            The next evening, we went to the Steinway house to attend a concert. We heard about it from the manager during our visit the day before. The concert was free and open to the public. The manager said that sometimes so many people showed up that they couldn’t fit everyone in the room. He recommended making a reservation, which was pretty easy to do with the Eventbrite App.

                            The concert was sponsored by the Lieven Foundation. Each year, Lieven Foundation selects 20 or so highly accomplished young pianists from around the world to spend two summer months in Vienna, where they take masterclasses with some of the best pianists in the world. This sounds such a privilege, living in Vienna for two months and learning from the best! I can’t imagine how competitive it must be for the selection process. During the program, the students give recitals every Thursday evening at the Steinway house and every Friday evening at the Bösendorfer salon.

                            We arrived on time. It was a very hot day. The room was about half full, not crowded, fortunately. The audience seemed to be a mixture of locals and visitors. Four students were scheduled to play at the recital, for the duration of one hour.

                            Here is the program

                            The students are in fact all professional pianists. Everyone has won prestigious competitions, and some of them have performed with some of the best orchestras in the world and in some of the most well-known concert halls. The performances were simply outstanding. We were immersed in the music, forgetting ourselves and our exhausting day. We were most impressed with the last pianist, who played with such passion and intricacy at the same time.

                            Songhyeon Kim playing Schumann DavidsbĂŒndlertĂ€nze

                            After the recital, people hung out for a while to look around and chat with the pianists. Two Steinway staff members were there. They opened a bottle of champagne and invited everyone to join. I chatted with Yael, the pianist who performed Scriabin’s “black mass sonata.” She told me that she was from Isreal and that she started learning piano at about age 8. She loved being in the Lieven piano program. When she heard that my son likes to play piano and that he is 16 - he looks like a giant older than his age - she said, “oh, he has many years to practice and to get in the program!” She is 25.

                            A guy, who looked like a local, was playing the NoĂ© piano. He played a few measures of several pieces to test it out and seemed really enjoying it. He said to a staff member that he might schedule a time to come and play it next week. I encouraged my son to give it a try. Either too tired or intimidated by the professionals, he wasn’t so eager this time. đŸ€Ł

                            What a lovely way to spend the evening! We couldn’t wait for the concert on Friday.

                            We went to the Bösendorfer salon to attend the Friday evening concert. It was devastating for us to find out that I got the time wrong! When we arrived, the concert had literally ended. If there’s any regret from this trip, that is it 😱

                            Here is what we missed.

                              There were still groups of people there, although no champagne. We decided to stay around a little. Yael performed again that evening. I chatted with her. A man, probably an advanced amateur, played on the concert grand set up in the middle of the showroom for the recital. He played Chopin’s “harp” etude and gave a solid performance. People clapped. Then we heard piano playing in the back room, no doubt by a virtuoso.

                              We went to check it out. An older gentleman with wild hair was playing on the beautiful special edition Bösendorfer, surrounded by the student pianists and a few others. He was playing a fast pace piece while talking to one of the student pianists. I couldn’t make out what exactly they were talking about, but there was a lot of excitement on their faces. I guessed that he must be their teacher in the Lieven piano program. I was right. He is Francois Guy.

                              Mr Guy’s playing was as dynamic as his personality, and his hair. After he finished playing, he stood up and announced, “This is a fabulous piano!” People looked excited and the conversations continued for a little longer. Then walking towards the door, Mr. Guy waved to the student pianists and said, “Now let’s go have dinner. We just had a feast from heaven. We are going to have a feast from earth.” We all cheered.

                              My heart was filled with gratitude.

                                cheeeeee “Now let’s go have dinner. We just had a feast from heaven. We are going to have a feast from earth.”

                                Wow, that is beautifully poetic.

                                @cheeeeee, you've really whetted my appetite to start planning a Vienna trip 🙂

                                    I wish I knew about all of these options when I was in Vienna many years ago! My friend and I did get 5 Euro tickets to stand in the stalls at the opera though. Loving your trip updates!!

                                      cheeeeee

                                      Wow. I'm reading all this, several minutes after playing our acoustic 280VC at home. I totally agree with Guy, about fabulous piano. Reminds me to count my blessings.

                                          Pallas I was so shocked and sad and mad at myself! Thankfully my family❀didn’t blame me even though they were disappointed as well. Yael told me “You’ll come next year!”

                                            Gombessa Wow, that is beautifully poetic.

                                            @cheeeeee, you've really whetted my appetite to start planning a Vienna trip 🙂

                                            Yes! It is truly the heaven of music lovers. A visit to the Bösendorfer factory is in my dream plan someday.