HELLO EVERYONE, CHOPIN PLAYED ON A PLEYEL PIANO. WHERE IS PLEYEL COMPARED TO YAMAHA OR STEINWAY ? SINCERELY, STEPHEN TANASSE

Pleyel is in France. Steinway is in New York and Hamburg, while Yamaha is in Japan and a few other places.

Compared to Yamaha or Steinway, I believe that, sadly, Pleyel is no longer in production. A couple of years ago, for financial reasons, Pleyel closed its main factory in Arles in southern France. Pleyel made elegant pianos of tonal distinction and refinement.
Kind regards,

Robert.

Unless the website is a phantom, Pleyel are still (or again, since there have been several re-foundings) in business:
Pleyel Pianos

While I have never played a Pleyel grand, I have tried a Pleyel upright, and it was as Robert45 described: elegant, distinguished, and refined. I can readily envision Chopin's music sounding spectacular on a Pleyel. A very European sound.

Pleyel has been owned by the same owner since 1994. This is a very wealthy couple who are striving to make the very best quality pianos. They built a factory in the south of France and made newly designed pianos. Now they have moved the factory to Paris and have ceased production of the vertical pianos, but still have some in stock for sale.

Pleyel was the brand of piano which Chopin preferred and almost always performed on. Erand was the French brand which Liszt championed. Pleyel later bought Erand and makes world class pianos in France. These are of the highest quality hand made pianos with very modern designs. These pianos sound different than the finest German or American pianos. However they not only sound beautiful, they have the finest Renner actions and highest quality parts, such as sound boards from the trees of the Italian Alps. They are truly beautiful and fine pianos to suit the highest artistic desires.

You could try a Pleyel grand in our showrooms. The Pleyel grands have very large soundboards for their length as they have unusually wide tail sections. I believe that this gives the treble section greater richness.

Thank you mjs and others for letting us know that Pleyel is still in business at a very fashionable address in Paris. I had heard from a local dealer who imports Pleyel pianos that they were still operating on a smaller scale in Paris and it is reassuring to confirm this by the website.
Vive Pleyel!

Kind regards,

Robert.

I was close to buying a Pleyel, but I found them very ugly. So I ended up choosing something else.

One of my friends was also about to buy a Pleyel, but then got a Fazioli instead.

I play a Pleyel 190, built in 2002. It is a very fine piano! The sound is powerful and delicate at the same time. I remember someone on the forum compare it to Schimmel. The Renner action is marvellous. I think it depends very much on your own taste whether you'd prefer it to a new Yamaha or Steinway of similar size & quality. I once tried a Yamaha S4 BB and I like it a lot.

They had a bad fire in February, but their website says that they are still in business:

"Dans la nuit du 4 au 5 février 2009, le feu s’est déclaré dans un local technique de la manufacture des Pianos Pleyel de Saint-Denis (93), spécialisée dans les pianos de très haut de gamme.

Les dégâts matériels sont importants, mais la continuité de la manufacture est assurée."

Gary,

How do the Pleyel's compare in price to other pianos? More than S&S or Bosie? I played a Pleyel Double Harpsichord while at UNT that supposedly had belonged to Wanda Landowska. It was made beautifully. However, seemed like a cross between a piano-forte and a harpsichord because of having a metal plate. How many Pleyel's do you have in your store? Thanks, RG

Just as a little side note Liszt's piano was an ERARD, not Erand.

I have seen Pleyels several times over the years and found them unimpressive for their cost. I understand their long heritage but! I found them thin sounding and rather fragile in construction. I found their cabinet styling odd and in some cases rudimentary looking.