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Strange Indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zooplibob,Please call you're pharmacy. Maybe they gave you the wrong perscription as the side effects are obviously dangerous! LOL!
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Thank you so much for coming. It was indeed a wonderful weekend.
So many guests were planning to attend, that we had to divide the party to two separate nights, lest the showroom be overrun by hundreds of piano lovers (and who knew there were so many of us left!).
Both events were wonderful, yet very different in character from one another…not unlike the different sounds of wonderful pianos.
It was overwhelming, in a wonderful way, to see customers and PW members coming not just from CT and NY, but also from Boston, New Hampshire, NJ, PA, MD and as far as California...and piano industry people making their way from Europe, Florida and as far away as Stony Point , NY and Wilton, CT… (private joke! )
My only regret was that I could not spend more time with each and every one of you…but you’re always welcome to come back.
FatherToPianist – it was great meeting with you, finally.
CC2/Dan, - it’s always great seeing you…and I’m sorry we had so little time to converse. I feel I almost missed you.
LJC – guess what…the Steingraeber concert grand just landed and cleared customs today! I know how much you wanted to lay your hands on one, so you can go ahead and plan another trip!
Jerry88 – Great to have you on Sat, missed you on Sun. Miffy – Chelsea is so wonderfully talented…we’ll see how she progresses for NEXT YEAR’S party!
James Maxwell…you have one skilled player at home! It looks like he wanted to spend some more time with the ‘toys’ in our showroom…so feel free to bring him back and warm up the keys.
Doogs/Linda – I don’t know how you manage to work out such a tan, and look so wonderfully relaxed! Wish I could have had some R & R myself. I don’t know what you’re having, but I need a bit of this myself.
Jeff BC – I saw you take some videos, so hopefully we’ll get to see these. I was so happy to see you and Elana, she is absolutely wonderful! Something tells me that I’ll be seeing you again rather soon, and I more than look forward to it, lobster or not!
Galahad – seeing you is always a pleasure. I can definitely understand the priority of piano first wife second (hopefully Rebecca is not reading this), but perhaps we can get the piano room sealed and you can keep both AND play for as long as you wish!
Rick Shapiro – Don’t dream too much about the Steingraeber! You may wake up one day to find out that you traded your piano for one…
Frank, Mr. piano world – it always fun seeing you and Kathy! I guess that all the parties made you one polished public speaker!!! I was duly impressed by the ease and grace you conducted the PW (AA) meeting…
Oh and did I forget someone…
Lilylady/Roberta…what can I say? It is YOU who make the paaaty come alive!!! YOU who wanna make me sing!!! YOU whom no one can foget…and YOU, moe than anyone else, bwing people together…
Roberta, Roberta, Roberta – Thank YOU for all the wonderful pictures, the warmth and the joy you spread around wherever you go, and throughout our community of Piano World members. All, please note…no party is complete without Roberta on board!
For all those I did not mention, thanks for coming and sharing our joy of pianos…and for those who wanted to attend and couldn’t make it, I’m sure there will be a next time…
And also, I would like to give special thanks to one non PW member who helped and arranged much more than just this party, but pretty much my life…my wife, Rebecca! Thanks for everything , Boss! (so can I have a day off now?).
Ori Bukai - Owner/Founder of Allegro Pianos - CT / NYC area.
One can usually play at our showroom:
Bluthner, Steingraeber, Estonia, Haessler, Sauter, Kawai, Steinway, Bosendorfer and more.
Looks like a fantastic place to view some of the finest pianos. Wishing you the best in your business. If I ever make it your way, I will definitely stop in.
Verhnjak Pianos Specializing in the Restoration, Refinishing & Maintenance of Fine Heirloom Pianos
Ori, Nice response! You have such class,not only meaning your establishment and pianos,but in your personality and the way in which you conduct yourself. Best wishes for you, your family and your new venture.
Ori, It was no surprise to any of us that know you and Rebecca that your new place of business is nothing less than MAJESTIC!! The pianos, the ambiance and the location are all befitting of the type of business you run. May you have many years of success and happiness there, bringing the joy of piano music to all that walk through your doors. I enjoyed myself very much at the "Event" on Sunday.....you've come a long way from the evening three years ago when I walked into your living room to meet, for the first time, the Estonia of my dreams. To this day I continue to be amazed at the the incredible beauty of that instrument. I had the pleasure of speaking at length with Dr. Indrek Laul and his wife at the party. What wonderful people they are.....and his rendition of Gershwin on that Bosie Imperial was spectacular!!! I thanked them for what they've done to "recreate" the Estonia, and make it a pianist's piano, while keeping it a tremendous value. Anyway, thanks again to you and Rebecca for a really nice day. I, too, look forward to speaking with you more. Dan
Interesting tidbits that I learned last weekend while talking with the owners/representatives there:
The first one I'll share was rather embarassing, but I guess it is funny in the end. And it needs to be shared...
I often hear it called, and call it, a Steingraeber piano, rather than Steingraeber and Sohne. So I asked Udo who might this Sohne person be. Oh, he is not old enough to be in the business yet, he answers. '????' Oh, says I, thinking there was a language difference in understanding what I was asking. I didn't mean your 'son' I meant the Sohne in the logo. Smiling (I don't know how he could keep a straight face) he correctly pronounces Sohne as Son-he, or something similar, and says that Sohne is German for Son. I wonder how red I got? Who knew that? Did you? So it is Steingraeber and Son!
Indrek met his wife, who also is a concert pianist, when she came in to check out the Estonia line. They now have two angelic light blond sons. Indrek travels giving concerts and Triian will be playing for the Queen of Estonia soon!
Christian Bluthner stands out in a crowd. He is 6'6"! He has some rather colorful descriptions of pianos. Ask him sometime how a piano can be described as a 'juicy' orange.
You know those extra low keys that are on a Bose Imperial? During a discussion, I mentioned to Bose Eric that I thought that they would throw me off balance while playing. Apparently they are more for resonance than for playing (correct me Eric if I am saying this incorrectly). At one time they used a cover for them similar to an extended cheek block. It went up and down but some owners tried to close the fallboard cover without first closing the low key cover - so they did away with it. The fallboard name appears where it should be - centering over middle C
Larry Fine plays a beautiful Brahms 118-2.
PW Frank hates Florida weather. I wonder how soon it will take for him to come back to live in NE!
Ori doesn't know how to pronounce Party. Apparently neither do I!!!
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything."
Thank you Ori and Rebecca for inviting us to your new place. Sam (the blond playing the Bluthner - Khachaturian's Toccata) thanks you for letting him play. He was excited to meet Christian Bluthner. I remember when we first came to visit (3 years ago?) and others told us to be prepared to play for hours. I didn't know what that meant. We left after 4 hours. You even offered to feed us. This didn't happen just once. In fact, on one trip, when we were trying to make a final decision on a Bluthner, you saw that we were hesitant and told us to go away and think about it. This is a little different than the time at another piano store when the hovering salesman asked if we were going to buy anything that day. I also remember Sam playing a Bluthner in your living room while we spent a long time talking about boats. Are you going to put a little boat in the pond in back?
I had no idea that you were a PW member!!! Thank you and your family for coming!
Sam had become a fantastic player. It's very rewarding to see a student that has one of our pianos reaching such a level a few years later. Yes, of course, his talent is more important than the piano, and the teacher has much to do with it as well...but I'd like to think that playing for the past few years on your gorgeous Bluthner also played a role in his musical development and the high level he achieved.
The pond in the back of our building, by the way, was created by damning a stream in 1905. The family who owned the property at that time, and who owned it until the time I purchased it, was in the ice business...and used it to harvest ice. At winter time it’s all frozen, and I’m told there was a time when ice skaters were welcome to use it 9not anymore, unfortunately).
Now, it's like a forgotten piece of nature preserve right outside of our windows.
The pond and its surroundings has nice size fish, snapping turtles, geese, ducks, Blue Herons, Egrets, and other wild life. there is a whole family of woodchucks as well, and looking at these, wondering calmly on the grass, through the windows just a few feet away, provides for a very peaceful setting.
The problem with getting a little boat on the pond, is that our customers would probably be too busy fishing rather than looking at pianos. So no boat in the plans!
Ori Bukai - Owner/Founder of Allegro Pianos - CT / NYC area.
One can usually play at our showroom:
Bluthner, Steingraeber, Estonia, Haessler, Sauter, Kawai, Steinway, Bosendorfer and more.
The problem with getting a little boat on the pond, is that our customers would probably be too busy fishing rather than looking at pianos. So no boat in the plans!
NO FISHING !!!!
Verhnjak Pianos Specializing in the Restoration, Refinishing & Maintenance of Fine Heirloom Pianos
What a beautiful piano showroom!! The party looks like a grand soriee!! Thanks for the info on the pond. My only concern is that the pond doesn't flood or rise. Congrats on the store, Ori!!
What a beautiful piano showroom!! The party looks like a grand soriee!! Thanks for the info on the pond. My only concern is that the pond doesn't flood or rise. Congrats on the store, Ori!!
The showroom is about 10' above sea (pond) level, should be safe :-)
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Based on the title, I have to assume everyone committed suicide in creatively morbid ways at the end, right?
What a strange post. ???
Maybe I should just ignore it.
Remember "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis? The same director made a movie called 'The Happening', I didn't see it but here's a quick synosis from IMDB:
"A woman walks her dog and a breeze begins to blow. A traffic cop (Don Castro) walking through a traffic jam stops and comments to a taxi driver about the chilly weather. Suddenly everyone stops in their tracks, and the dog runs across the road after his leash drops to the ground, leading us back to the cop who is now standing still in front of the cab. A gunshot rings out and he drops to the ground. As blood spurts from a bullet wound on his forehead, the taxi driver gets out, walks over to the dead cop, picks up the gun from beside the body and shoots himself in the forehead as well. A woman in high heels steps off the sidewalk, picks up the gun again and we hear another gunshot."
)
