My new Kawai SI-16 was delivered today and I'm very happy with it.

Those who've been following my story will remember that, for economic reasons, I had to sell the 1900 Steinway A-2 that had been in our family for 70 years. It needed a little work but it still had a beautiful sound and presence.

With some proceeds from the sale, I determined to get myself a nice upright - not too tall because (as you'll see in the pictures below) we had limited vertical space for where the piano would go. Touch and tone were important to me and I played a lot of pianos. After doing some research, I went into a Kawai dealership thinking I'd likely be purchasing a K-2 or K-3 but was surprised to discover that I liked the resonance and power of the UST-9 better than either of them. But it looked a little too plain for me (being an institutional piano after all), especially as a replacement to my Steinway. I also wanted some of the nicer features of the higher-end K-series: Neotex keys and tone escape ports.

I had liked the look of the SI-16 (Rosina) on the Kawai website but could never find a dealer with one in stock for me to try. However, I discovered that Don Mannino said on this forum that the SI-16 and SI-17 have the same internal design as the UST-9. So, I took a leap of faith and ordered the SI-16. I negotiated good terms and am very happy with this beautiful new instrument.

I'll have to admit that it's an adjustment from the Steinway. The treble doesn't sing the way my A-2 did and I can see I'll have to work a little harder to make the melody stand out. I'm sure I'll get used to it - and that it will begin to shine with use as I break the hammers in, etc.

That said, I can play delicate pianissimo passages much better and more clearly on the Kawai than I ever could on the Steinway. I credit the M3 action for that.

Here are pictures of my new Kawai Rosina:









Paul

Hi Paul,
Congratulations on your beautiful new piano! The finish is lovely and as a new piano its sound will improve with playing over the next year or two.

Kind regards,

Robert.

Those are very nice pianos. Congratulations.

I like the finish. Congrats!

What a lovely piano! Congratulations!!!!

I really like that traditional American cabinet style in an upright verses the standard European style with the little fold-down desktop.

I hope you have many, many years of enjoyment out of it!

Rick

It's beautiful, Paul. I like my UST-9, but it is kind of industrial. Your bench looks more comfortable, too. I'm now officially jealous. Congratulations!

Charles

Congratulations! Your new piano looks right at home in its spot!

Very nice! I never saw these while shopping Kawai, and I agree it looks nicer for sure. I now have bench envy too, the color is gorgeous, right down to the bench!!

I got my piano yesterday too, actually, so I really can feel your excitement!

Enjoy and congrats!

Congratulations, Paul, on your beautiful new piano. And that bench looks downright comfy.

That is one lovely piano. Congratulations!

I love the cabinetry... beautiful, simple craftsman-like lines with gorgeous finish and color. Kawai is really putting out some fine products.

Enjoy!

Congratulations, this SI-16 is beautiful and fits your room nicely. I like the music desk and the grand like fallboard, much like a smaller size K-8 !

Is that a "volume vent" behind the music desk (near the base of the desk) that can be opened-closed ?

How do you like it after a few weeks' burn-in?

Hi Cozy --

Those are the so-called "full spectrum tone release ports" also featured on the K-8. Here's a picture with the music desk removed:



You can't actually close them except by fully lowering the base of the music desk until it clicks into the front of the piano. At that point, the desk is too vertical to reliably hold most music.

I'm still playing the piano daily, still loving it, but also still making adjustments. I had it too close to the wall initially and it sounded a little muffled. Now 4.5" from the wall it sounds clearer and more powerful.

I also still have the sound of my old 6'2" Steinway in my head and I admit that there are times when the Kawai disappoints me because it can't reproduce the Steinway's heft and presence. Yet, I am able to produce rich, sweet, full sounds on my Kawai upright. Perhaps the Kawai is less forgiving than the Steinway was. I'm discovering that small adjustments to the way I actually hit the keys pay off in making the melody stand out with clarity and power and the supporting chords or arpeggios come alive with character and texture.

I also have to say that I love having a practice pedal in the place of a sostenuto or bass-damper pedal I never used. Now I can practice my Hanon and my scales without driving my wife batty!

(BTW, I see you live in Chapel Hill. I went to grad school there and loved the people and the area.)

Paul

Beautiful wood finish! Does "Rosina" mean it's rosewood?

It's cherry veneer. Yes, I think it's pretty, too!

I'm not sure why they call it Rosina, perhaps in honor of pianist and Juilliard instructor Rosina Lhévinne (1880-1976)?



Her more famous students included Van Cliburn, James Levine, John Williams and Mischa Dichter. At age 82, she performed Chopin's First Piano Concerto with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic.

I haven't been able to find anyone named Rosina more notable than Mme. Lhévinne ...

Paul

Paul, *if* you can easily move the piano, you might want to position it c.4" away from the wall. Verticals usually sound better there.

It is so beautiful. Love it!

The finish on your Rosina is beautiful! I love the music desk, and the cushy bench. Congratulations!

I'm at 4-and-a-half inches now and I'm pretty pleased with it. You can tell from the first pictures that there's a "window" into an adjacent room just above the top of the piano, so that diminishes the available reflective surface and I think a fair amount of sound rolls out of the room by that route. However, I really have no other place to put the piano. I may eventually try angling it out from the wall just a bit - like this: /| - to see how that works.

Thanks to all for your very nice comments!

Paul

From another thread ...



Six weeks now since my piano was delivered. Yes, I'm still very pleased with the Rosina!

Still playing my Hanon and major scales and I'm polishing four pieces. The control of the pianissimo continues to astound me. When I get a good mic, I'll post audio of Debussy's Arabesque No. 1. I'm able to play the polyrhythms (triplets against eighth notes) very delicately while a loud arpeggio in the bass half way through "growls" as pleasurably as it used to on my Steinway.

I have not yet requested my in-house tuning although I'm noticing a little slippage in pitch as the new strings mature. I've ordered a hygrometer to measure humidity levels and am waiting to see the results of those over a two-week period or so. The Kawai dealer said she would not charge me for installation of a humidity control system if I had the tech put it in during my free tuning - but I would have to pay for the system, of course. I believe that, living in Florida, low humidity will not be a problem for me at any point in the year, and I think my AC/heat will control high humidity, but I just want to make sure.

Paul

Thanks for the update. All the best with your bew piano.

Your piano and bench look just great and the finish is especially nice. Congratulations.

You are correct that your AC will reduce room humidity. However your heating system will not. So, especially in winter, your piano is likely to be subject to substantial swings in humidity. Basically, anytime your AC is not in use.

Best regards,

Beautiful finish on that Rosina! Enjoy!

that is quite gorgeous. I really like the idea of the 'full spectrum ports'.. quite clever. It's so pretty. Do you know how they came up with the 'Rosina' name?

It is interesting to note that here we have an example of an instance where it is quite reasonable to purchase a piano without playing it.

With those brands that have very high consistancy of manufacturing, Kawai and Yamaha in particular, the variations in performance among like scales are oftem relatively insignificant. In this case, moving the piano a few inches from the wall likely changed the tonality more than the varience in the tonality of another Rosina.

oh, i see.

it's a table cloth.

thought it was one of those walker bouncers

Just a little update to say I paid off my Kawai Rosina last week!

Broussard's (Mobile, AL) gave me a great price and great terms - nine months with no interest!

I love this piano! Play it at least two hours a day and wish I could do more. I've been playing piano for 44 years now and I'm having more fun now than I ever have!

Paul

Congratulations, Paul! Glad to hear you're still enjoying your piano so much!

That's how it should be! Congratulations on paying it off so it's all yours now! Enjoy!

Have you worked out all the little "new piano bugs"?

Is the millenium III action everything you hoped for?

I remain very interested in that piano. I have UST-7 now from 1989, and love it, but yours looks delicious.