We are working on putting together a tour of European Piano Factories.

We have standing invitations from Steingraeber, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Estonia, and Fazioli, as well as Renner (actions).

I realize we can't take them all in during one trip, we'll have to work out those details.

Because Europe is so beautiful, with incredible architecture and so much history, I'm thinking we'll want to take in more than the piano places.

Some composers homes/birth-places would be fun, as would music halls, opera houses, Cathedrals (think pipe organs), etc.

We still have a lot of details to work out, including
When: (it will be sometime in 2011)
Where: (Germany, Austria, Italy, Estonia, etc.)
Which Factories
How Long
Where to Stay
The rest of the itinerary

Right now I'm looking for input and feedback from those who have been there (ex: BosieEric, Rich G.?) and...

I would like to know if any of you think you would be interested in joining us for this tour.

If you even think you might be interested, please reply to this post.

Definitely am interested. Good chance I'll finally be retired by then.

I do not know much about piano factories in Italy, but I live in Milan, and play a Steinvway C; I think this sounds like a great idea and as I speak Italian, please let me know if I can be of any help.

Sure, I might be interested. It depends on when, cost, etc. When I visit Europe I usually travel pretty spartan.

In fact I was recently on business in Frankfurt and I took a side trip to Prague and I visited the C. Bechstein/Bohemia factory in Hradec Kralova. It was really pretty cool.

John

Thanks Milano, we may well want to take you up on your offer.

Not sure if we will get to the Fazioli factory in the 2011 tour, but our plan is to do another tour in 2012 to visit the places we miss in 2011.

The Fazioli factory is located in Sacile, 60 Km (35 miles) northeast of Venice in the northeastern part of Italy.

Can't make them all?

Sounds wonderful. I am interested depending on the dates of course - can't go in gardening season! Late spring or fall would be great - I could make some arrangements for the business then. Would be interested in doing other musical things as well. Might be interested in a female roommate to cut expenses.

As to make traveling practical by keeping distances as short as possible it could be a good idea to have a look at this Google map which I have stolen from one of Eric Johnson's websites:

European piano builders

schwammerl.

Very cool schwammerl, thanks (and thanks Eric).

Yikes, now the list is longer.

Although we only have direct invites from 4 or 5 manufacturers, I'm pretty sure most would welcome a visit given enough notice.

My plan is to intersperse factory tours with side trips to some of the many wonderful sights, sounds, and tastes of Europe (says the guy who's never been there, but who's sister and friends rave about it).

Well we'll just have to organize additional trips as time goes by.

Sounds like a nice trip. Might be able to take a week or two off to join, if I know when it will happen a few months in advance and if it's not too busy at the job. And Yes I also will have to be careful with the budget though I dont want to share a room

I'm planning to retire in 2011 and I would love to go. I'm also going to buy a grand when I retire and have money direct depositing to a savings account for that. Guess I better increase the amount for a possible trip!

Like everyone else, the timing of the trip, etc., will be the deciding factor though.

We are continuing to develop our plans for the 2011 European Piano Tour.

Our own Robin Meloy Goldsby (author of the books Piano Girl, and Rhythm, and instigator of the Let's Talk Weddings thread) has offered us a free concert at one of the venues she plays for. We're leaning toward the Schloss-Lerbach Castle in Bergisch Gladbach near to Cologne, Germany.
http://www.schlosshotel-lerbach.com/en/



She's also graciously offered to help us figure out what to see and do (rumor has it she has an in at the Hamburg Steinway factory too).

At this time our initial plans include:

Visiting Steingraber factory in Bayreuth, Bluthner in GroBposna, Bosendorfer in Vienna Austria, and if time and scheduling allows we would like to see Fazioli in Sacile PN Italy.

Also under consideration...
When we go to Austria, Mozart, Beethoven,(house on Probusgasse) and Strauss are three of the composers we are interested in seeing either home sites or venues where they were well known.
Musikverein , Shloss Shonbrunn Stephansdom (where Mozart was married), in Salzburg (Mozart's birthplace) and the "Sound of Music" venues there.

Time permitting, we would love to get to Italy and see Fazioli's and Venice.

We are now working with a travel agent who lives here in the States, but was originally from Poland and Germany.

It appears a 12 day trip would be about right, giving us 2 days of travel (one each way), and 10 days of sight-seeing/hearing/playing/picture taking.

Our agent is working on some itineraries and initial pricing estimates.
For U.S. travelers we are talking about meeting in Tampa, FL or Boston, MA.

In the meantime, we're still open to suggestions about what to see.

Our agent suggests May/June as the best time, followed by Sept/Oct. However she said
Sept. can be rainy, and you don't want to be in Germany during Octoberfest (unless that's what you were going there for).


Additional updates coming soon.

Interested. Very interested. Last time I was in Austria I didn't go see Bösendorfer - I didn't think of it until after we left (what an idiot, huh)... it would be great if the kids weren't in school when this occured - the whole family could go then.

I love to do this trip. I have seen some of the places mentioned in Vienna and Salzburg but willing to do see these again. This is the kind of trip I look forward to, pianos, pianos related stuff....and not to mention beautiful sceneries in Europe. Any idea around which part of 2011 will this take place (or at least which month)and the cost of this trip?
I figure that this trip will start off in the US, can a non-US person join in? Thanks.

Hi Victor,

We're leaning toward May/June 2011.

Started working with a travel agent here in the states.
She lived in Poland and Germany, and had a travel agency in Germany.

Now she lives in Florida and works with a travel agency here.
And.. her husband plays piano.

Haven't got cost estimates yet, but hoping to have some ideas soon.

By all means we'd love to have people from other countries join us.
Piano World is international as is our membership. We will likely arrange for the
folks from the States here to meet in one place and travel over together.

But we would certainly love to have members (and guests) from other countries join us, and would be happy to have our agent help you coordinate the travel, and of course, would like all of us to stay in the same hotels (castle?).

More coming soon.

It sounds like a wonderful trip. I second JeffBC's request that it be scheduled for June, when the kids are out of school.

I work for a university and am not allowed to take vacation during Commencement week (May 15-21, 2011) so I'd also prefer June.

I would love to join the group and also help however I can. I am looking forward to this and will clear my schedule however I can in anticipation.

Great Rich, would love to get your input.

I know you've been over there (I remember the beautiful pictures you posted).

All help is much appreciated.

Our agent is working up some itineraries, and it going to get us some ballpark figures. The problem is, it's difficult to nail prices down so far in advance.

We will keep working on the when, where, and what, then follow up with pricing as soon as it's available. This is open to any of our members/guests from around the world. For U.S. members, we will likely meet in one place and fly over together.

For folks from other countries, we'll do what we can to help coordinate travel and lodging.

Best,

Frank B.

Interested. Waiting for details.

Great, very happy to see more and more people interested in visiting the European piano builders.

We are continuing to work on the itinerary, our plan being to take in some top-notch piano builders, some piano shops, music halls, composers homes, etc.

Trying not to cram too much into one trip, but we're very excited about visiting Europe and all it has to offer.

At this point we are leaning toward June, and likely a 12 day trip, two of which will be for travel, ten for the sight-seeing and enjoying.

More coming, keep watching this thread, and make sure you get our free newsletter, as we will be making announcements in the newsletter.

And by all means, if you have any interest in this trip, please let us know by replying in this thread.

wow, just discovered this thread.

i would like to suggest a visit to baden-baden. not only is it absolutely gorgeous that time of year (it's in the black forest and there are gardens and castles galore), but it's very international, has great restaurants and hotels, the ancient and modern baths and spas are unlike anything in america, AND, AND, the brahmshaus museum is there.

plus, the abel hammer factory and sauter piano factory are not too far away, IIRR.

i would think that at least one visit to a hammer maker or an action maker would be worth while.

also, visiting a soundboard maker such as ciresa in the val di fiemme in northern italy, or strunz on the german/austrian border would be highly educational.

i don't know if i can make it. mr. pique and i are discussing now whether or not i should apply for a fellowship in italy for next year, so that throws a big question mark into my plans. of course, if i'm already over there, that makes the decision a lot easier!

ten days is a really short time to cover so much ground. will be interested in seeing how the plans all turn out...

p.s.

i just want to say that when i was planning my own european tour, norbert was extremely helpful in developing a workable piano-centric itinerary.

where is he?

Yes, I’d certainly like to be counted in on this, subject to additional information regarding price estimates – assuming of course one wouldn’t have to rob too many banks to finance such a wonderful sounding trip.
And as Piqué suggested I’d just love the Sauter piano factory to be included.

Please include me in any dissemination of info regarding this trip. For me, it will depend greatly on scheduling (and of course cost), but I'd like to be in the loop for consideration... sounds like a fantastic trip.

I am already in Austria, but it sounds really nice. I would love to join if I can.

I also live in Europa, in Spain, but it seems to me a very beautifull trip and a good idea.
I would like to be informed.

Best regards

Yes, do keep us informed.

If I'm not in Korea or China or some other exotic land--and if it can be fitted into our budget--we'd be interested.

Can't conflict with the PTG convention, of course.

ddf

Hope you can make it Del, it would be fun to have you and Barbara along.

Do you know the dates for the PTG in 2011?

- FB

Another suggestion......perhaps a visit to a fortepiano maker? Great to sample fortepianos as well I would think.

For us, price would be a consideration. Also, in a matter completely unrelated to pianos, every 2-3 years I take people to walk across the Grand Canyon and May/June 2011 is the next tentative time frame for that. Later June would be better because we never venture into the Canyon in the summer.

Further about price, we just visited our son in Thailand this past January. We found ourselves to be just as comfortable and perhaps enjoyed ourselves more in some of the more modest venues than when we were in an international-class accommodation.

--Keith

I'm now into the last half of my 6-month stint here in Germany; loving it, and the weather is fabulous right now, though some nights can be cool. I have no special connections with any piano people, places, or things, but will be glad to help provide input/insight as I can.

July 13-17, 2011 - Kansas City

I am in Italy but would be really interested in this trip. June is probably best in the countries mentioned. I will be in Warsaw later in May-they are celebrating 200 years from Chopin's birth and a new Chopin museum opened 1 March. I will try to see it and keep you posted.

Very interested. Will keep watching as plans firm up.

jeo

I would love to go in 2011. Let's firm up the dates. A two week trip would be great and we could really do some serious. I would be looking to share a room with some Piano Forum member.

Yes, I would definitely like to be included on the tour of european piano factories. Keep me posted please

Thanks for all the responses everyone, we will keep you posted as we firm up the plans. We have a number of options for which piano shops to visit. I have to get back in touch with them to make sure they can accomodate us (and find out how many people they can handle on a tour).

In the meantime, you might want to add this thread to your watched topics.

Best,

Frank B.
Piano World

I might be interested. I am new to Piano Forum and have been watching, but not posting. Never been much of a blogger, but this is too much fun to stay on the side lines....

I am definitely interested. May/June sounds best.

I forgot to ask our agent, and she's on leave right now.

Anybody from the areas we are planning to visit, or anybody that has visited
them recently... Germany / Austria / Italy.

Do you know what the availability is of high-speed Internet service (hotels, etc.)?

I will need to be able to stay in touch (2 weeks away is too much), and I presume some others might like to have some access.

- Frank B.

I live in Vienna. I also travel quite a bit so know what you mean. Most hotels, even small ones, will have high speed internet. Same in germany and I am pretty sure Italy too.

Wireless is pretty common, but sometimes you must use DSL phone cable. Just in case, be sure to bring the correct telephone adapter. Also, many hotels offer use of their own desktops already set up for internet.

Thanks tnew,

Which reminds me, I need to check with my cell phone carrier. I believe you can switch the sim card to use a U.S. phone in Europe (?)

Oh, and aren't the outlets different from ours?
(Ours are 120 volt with two side by side vertical slots, and one round slot under, sorta like a smiley face).

I'll be glad when our travel agent gets back :-)

I never bought into the cell phone fad (though I have one for when I travel). But I do know that you need a multiband phone to use yours in Europe. Triband at least. Most basic US cell phones won't work in Europe because they are only dual band. Check yours for the multi bandwidth.

If your cell phone is at least triband, and assuming you have a service contract that allows for international calls, you can use your US sim anywhere. I never change mine out. It's true that if you can get a local one, it is definitely cheaper to call. Unfortunately you usually need a local address to get one. Instead, most people buy a calling card for cell phones that gives a discount rate. Usually the best ones are the ones you buy in the country you are visiting. I can help you with that if you choose to get a calling card.

One other point, you might want to check out skype for making phone calls through your laptop. That is even cheaper.

The outlets are 220volts. Your cell phone and laptop should adjust automatically without having to flip a switch on the device or use a transformer. I have used mine with both voltages with no problem. Check the user manuals and the tiny text written on the charger of your device just to be sure(it should say something like 110-230volts which means it will work everywhere in between those voltages).

If it switches automatically, you only need an adapter for the plug. Those are cheap. You plug your US cord into the adapter which gives you the correct prong type to plug into the wall.

Devices that don't extend to the range of 220 or 230 volts must use a transformer. Usually those are small devices (like razors) and you can buy a little travel transformer. You likely won't need one if the only devices you have are the cell phone and laptop, which as I mentioned probably already are capable of up to 220/230 volts.

Oh, and in case it wasn't noticeable, I have spent a lot of time traveling and having to solve these same problems too!

Thanks again tnew, much appreciated. I also hope to get to your country one day soon.

I did pick up that you must do a lot of traveling :-)

And you've likely picked up by now that I haven't.
I've never been to Europe so I'm very excited about this trip.

I love old architecture, history, music, good food, and meeting new people.

My pleasure. Hopefully you will get the chance to visit here for the european piano factory tour. I definitely want to make an effort to join the group, because it sounds like it will be a super good time. I'm an expat from the US by the way. But since I have been in Austria for so many years now and probably will be for 100 more, I guess that makes me something like an ameripian.

I most likely won't join in, since I have personally visited quite a few of the manufacturers myself already, BUT

a) if there are questions regarding transport within Germany, accommodation (of Western countries, Germany has some of the lowest hotel costs, by the way), I'll help if I can

b) should the trip end up also coming to Munich (Piano Fischer have the complete range of Faziolis on show here, as they do in Stuttgart), depending on timing and size of group, there may be a possibility of a meet-up at our place or I can give suggestions for good beergardens.

If your time permits: August Förster in Löbau (which is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours or so from Leipzig (Großpösna is near Leipzig) by train) is also worth seeing - they are, together with Steingraeber, probably the most hands-only manufacturer. From Löbau, it is not far to Seifhennersdorf, where Bechstein have their German manufacturing (how much you can see there, I don't know - I have heard varying stories). On that route, it would be possible to do a stop-over in Dresden, which is definitely worth-while.

Markus

Forgot to say:

Most hotels have WiFi-access and there is quite a number of T-Mobile WiFi hotspots around (in stations, cafés, phonebooths etc.). Also, 3G/UMTS coverage is very comprehensive, certainly in the larger towns and cities, but - depending on your contract - roaming charges for data-transfers can be horrific (which is a general problem, not limited to Germany).

As long as your phone is a dual-band, i.e. has either 800MHz or 1800MHz in addition to the standard US 1900MHz band, it would work here, providing your contract permits roaming outside the US. As someone has mentioned, it will be a lot cheaper, though, to by a Germany pre-paid card if you intend to make more than just a few phone calls.

All this also applies to Austria or Italy.

Thanks Markus, your input is much appreciated.

One of our biggest challenges is narrowing down our list of piano builders and places to visit.
I find it fascinating that Europe has so many cultures and so much history in such a (relatively) small area.
It appears that one could start in Frankfurt and traveling out 250 miles in any direction, end up in
Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, or Switzerland.

In the US the same distance would only cover a few states.

Which is why Europeans are so much more into learning languages than we. In your example, there are 6 different languages within 250 miles of Frankfurt.

Hmm, I'd love to go. Not sure if I can make it though, we'll find out once we get a more firm date set for this.

Lovely idea, though!

decided to wait to apply for the italy fellowship. will definitely think about joining the group if i can swing it financially. (hm, maybe time to consider getting an assignment to go back to that part of the world.)

An absolute must to see is Steingraeber in Bayreuth, I think you should arrange all other things around that. Bayreuth is also a nice little town with things to see in a day.
I cannot say too much about the others (I would assume that the respective dealers have more info), apart from that Förster in Löbau is quite similar, but doesn't have the added bonus of a company "museum" as Steingraeber have it.
The two airports in Germany that offer the best intercontinental connections are Frankfurt and Munich (in that order). Frankfurt has the advantage of being connected to the mainline and high speed rail network, whereas from Munich airport it is 40 minutes by train to the central station with all the connections. Frankfurt is also more central in Germany, but I think Munich as a city has a lot more to go for it than Frankfurt. Munich to Vienna is about 4 hours by train in case you wish to see Bösendorfer, and Fazioli is probably about 5 hours by train to the nearest station from Munich.

Thank you mjs, we are definitely visiting Steingraeber, and now also Hamburg Steinway (still working on the others)...

From Steingraeber:
Dear Mr Baxter,

Thank you very much for your Email to Udo Steingraeber.
He is out of office at the moment and he will receive your Email as soon as possible after his return.

It would be a great pleasure for us to have you and a group of Piano World members here in our factory.
If it will be a group up to 25 persons, we will make one guidance, if the group is bigger we make two ... no problem.

In our office Irene Fleischmann plans tours like yours. She could help you with hotel,
city guidance, etc. Please don't hesitate to contact her for all further questions and the time schedule.

Very sincerely Yours
Adelheid Raschke

From Hamburg Steinway:(thanks to our own Robin Meloy Goldsby (aka The Piano Girl) for contacting them on our behalf).


Factory Tour
You and the other members of the Piano World Forum are very welcome for a factory tour later in 2011. Once you know the period you shall be in Europe, please let us know so we can define a date. For your plannings, please regard that the production times are between 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. That means your visit should be in the morning.


Best wishes from sunny Hamburg,
Gerrit
----------------------------
Steinway & Sons
C & A Department
T: +49-40-8539 1148
F: +49-40-8539 1199

I am still waiting to hear back from Bluthner, and intend to also contact Fazioli and possibly August Forster and/or Grotrian.

There are so many wonderful piano makers in Europe, it's hard to narrow down the list.
And of course we want to leave time to explore Europe (I've never been, very much looking forward to it, my daughter is there now and loving it).

- Frank Baxter
Founder / Host
Piano World

And from Udo Steingraeber...



Dear Frank,


thank you for your mail ! Yes, June 2011 will be very fine. You’re welcome here in Bayreuth.

You should only avoid some traditional holidays in that area but elswhere in Europe as well :

the week 23 = 6.06.–10.06.2011

and from the 27th of June are both good.



On 2.06.2011 is a holiday and 3rd of june most factories are closed (the BDK convention is fom 2nd until 4th of June , = German PTG)

11.06. – 26.06.2011: Whitsun/Pentecost holidays and most of the factoies in south Germany are closed.



We are looking forward to assisting you in planning your stay.



Best regards

Udo
Klaviermanufaktur Steingraeber & Söhne, Friedrichstraße 2, D 95444 Bayreuth
Tel: 09 21 / 6 40 49, Fax 09 21 / 5 82 72, steingraeber@steingraeber.de; www.steingraeber.de
Steingraeber & Söhne, Piano- und Flügelfabrik KG, Sitz Bayreuth, AG Bayreuth, Registergericht HRA 366,

yes, there are a lot of holidays in europe! definitely get the holiday schedule before firming up the dates.

2011 holidays in S. German and Austria are (from April on):
25 April: Easter Monday
1 May: National Holiday
2 June: Ascension Day
13 June: Whit Monday
23 June: Corpus Christi
15 August: Assumption of the Virgin Mary

These are only for the Catholic areas, which includes all of Austria and only S. Germany. N. Germany doesn't necessarily recognize them. Other countries may or may not recognize them, but not likely that they have too many completely different holidays around this time period. You can probably use these as a good estimate to schedule around.

Weather is just starting to warm up as of April, though rain is frequently possible. May is a little more stable, but can go from hot to cold, dry to wet quickly. June is normally pleasant, though not this year's June.

Just to add to the holidays:

Easter Monday is a holiday everywhere in Germany (as is Good Friday - 22 April).
1 May (in Germany not called National Holiday but Labour Day) is also a holiday (in 2011 a Sunday, so not an issue) everywhere, as are Ascension Day and Whit Monday.

Corpus Christi is a holiday in all of Bavaria (not sure about other Länder), Assumption of Mary in Bavaria ONLY in municipalities with a Catholic population marjority (generally speaking that applies to the South of Bavaria but not to most areas of Franken such as Bayreuth and Nürnberg).
Saxony - for Blüthner and Förster - (which is by majority Lutheran) would not have Corpus Christi or Assumption of Mary as a holiday, but definitely the others. That also applies to Hamburg and Lower Saxony (Schimmel, Grotrian).
Probably wouldn't affect any scheduling, but 3 October is the German National Holiday.

Also, some companies shut for up to four weeks over Summer - which four weeks would depend on the school holidays in the respective Land (in Bavaria most likely in August, further North a bit earlier).

Update:

C. Bechstein has kindly invited our group (forums members/guests) to tour their facilities while we are in Europe. Our thanks to Bert Neidhardt of German American Trading Co. Inc. in Tampa, FL for spear-heading this effort.

From Bert ...
"C. Bechstein Europe would like to participate and open their doors in
Hradec Kralove ( Czech Republic ) as well as Seifhennersdorf ( Germany ) to the visitors. Of course, details have to be worked out before as to the number of participants as well as the timing. They produce C.Bechstein, Bechstein, Hoffmann and Bohemia instruments."
-----------------------------------
There is also a possibility of August Foerster in Loebau participating.

We are currently awaiting word back from Blüthner.

The last time I spoke with Dr. Christian Blüthner-Haessler (last September), he was
very receptive to the idea.

Blüthner is in!

The good Dr. Blüthner has graciously offered to conduct the tour of the Blüthner shop in the morning, followed by some wonderful visits to other very exciting places, to be announced shortly.

This is shaping up to be a tour you won't want to miss.
Pianos, music, friends, and Europe.

I expect to have a full itinerary outline and some pricing guidelines early next week. Make sure you add this thread to your watched topics.

This tour sounds amazing and I would love to attend. I will be at a conference in Prague from June 26-29th so selfishly I'd love for the tour to be roughly around those dates so that I can make all or part of it (bc I'm coming from WA state I'm so close!!!) I would love to see the Grotrian factory but haven't seen that mentioned so could try to do that on my own as an offshoot of the rest of the tour. I like the suggestion of the Abel hammer factory - that would be fascinating.

Yeah, what about Abel &/or Renner?
A view of the piano building process from a completely different perspective!

A few thoughts... First, whoever came up with this idea is brilliant and I am interested in going if I have the funds (graduation present to myself, maybe?). My second thought is that while there are already several factories on the list, there are a few unique places that are not:

Finchcocks Keyboard Museum and Hurstwood Farm Pianos. Finchcocks is unique among museums in that visitors can see the instruments in action. Hurstwood, of course, is the birthplace of Phoenix Piano Systems currently used by Steingraeber... also on site is an original Boesendorfer Imperial SE reproducing piano and a Boesendorfer-Moor Imperial (2 manual piano) and the Stuart & Sons pianos. The best part is that these two places are relatively near each other.

Other ideas I have are the Klavins model 370 upright in Germany, the Stemco Crystal Soundboard company in The Netherlands, the Borgato (pedal piano) company in Italy, and Paulello in France. There is also the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg which has one of the largest collections of keyboard instruments anywhere.

Thanks for the post beethoven986,

There are so many wonderful places we could visit we'd need at least
two months just in Germany/Austria. Even though we've pretty much decided on how this tour will go, we're happy to take all suggestions which we could consider for the next tour.

We have a draft of the itinerary for our first tour (June 2011) which I will be posting shortly. Among other sites of interest it takes us to four piano manufacturers shops and a couple of music museums along with some composers places.

The tour is 14 days (with the first and last days being primarily for travel).

Most of the days are quite full, although we have left some afternoons and evenings open for people to do whatever exploring they'd like.

Personally I've never been to Europe so I'm as excited about the opportunity to see the countries, meet the people, take in the architecture and try the food as I am about touring the piano shops.

Details about dates, itinerary, and estimated costs will be posted soon (our travel agency is working hard to coordinate all the pieces).

Here is the Itinerary as we have it so far.

Additional details will be coming as we firm things up and as we talk with the piano companies. For example, Herr Blüthner has indicated in addition to conducting the tour of Blüthner, he would like to take us on a private tour of a music museum and possibly some other sites as well.


The DATES Are 5 June 2011 through 17 June 2011.
For those who wanted to join us and bring their school age children we realize this may conflict with the end of school.

While we certainly cannot presume to advise you on your children's education... What could be more educational then a tour of Europe including it's famous musicians, artists, craftsmen, etc? Point being? Let them miss a couple days of school, they can always write a report about their trip :-)

Note that we tried to leave some free time in the afternoons and/or evenings to allow everyone time to explore on their own. We can of course also continue to explore as a group for those who might be interested.

The ITINERARY

day 0 June 4
Leave home for Hamburg
June 5, 11 Sun
Arrival Airport Hamburg, city orientation tour, no entrance
welcome cocktail, welcome dinner, o/n Hamburg

June 6, 11 Mon
Morning Tour of Hamburg Steinway Piano Factory, PM free
overnight (o/n) Hamburg

June 7, 11, Tue
Full day drive to Bonn via Cologne, to visit the Cathedral
o/n Bonn

June 8, 11 Wed
Morning visit to Beethoven museum, visit with Robin (The Piano Girl) Meloy Goldsby (and tour) o/n Bonn

June 9, 11 Thu
Full-day drive to Leipzig
o/n Leipzig

June 10, 11 Fri
Half-day tour of Blüthner Piano Facilities hosted by Dr. Blüthner. Evening at leisure (Herr Blüthner has indicated he would like to treat us to some other wonderful sights, more later).
o/n Leipzig

June 11, 11 Sat
To Bayreuth, arrival around lunch time, Visits to Wagner and Liszt Museums
o/n Bayreuth

June 12, 11 Sun
Full-day excursion to Nürnberg (Germanistic National museum, collection of
historic music instruments) & Rothenburg, walking tour (Sunday all shops and
companies are closed).
o/n Bayreuth

June 13, 11 Mon
AM Tour of Steingräber u. Söhne Piano conducted by Udo Steingräber , PM to Munich
o/n Munich

June 14, 11 Tue
AM Munich city tour including the Deutsches Museum (which houses one of the
world’s largest musical instrument collections, with a performance of the
music of Mozart on an original piano of his time and comparative
demonstrations on instruments from subsequent time periods) and the National
theater (where we have applied for a visit behind the scenes).

PM drive to Salzburg, upon arrival we have a 2 hour walking tour with local
Salzburg guide (compulsory) and visit the Mozart Haus, the birthplace of
Mozart.o/n Salzburg

June 15, 11 Wed
Morning drive to Vienna, arrive around lunchtime, afternoon orientation
tour, no entrance, plus a special: Meet a former member of the Opera House
of Vienna, he will give quite a bit background information and let you know
about these interesting gossip stories from behind the scenes. Enjoy this
meeting in a comfortable Viennese coffee house atmosphere with cake and
coffee (subject to confirmation).
We Are in Talks with Bosendorfer Now About a Visit in Place of the Opera Member Chat, Updates Coming
o/n Vienna

June 16, 11 Thu
Full-day “Musical Vienna”, a city tour connected with composers, with music,
of which there are many in Vienna.
Dinner at local restaurant, maybe in Grinzing, where you dine with local
wine and music in a wine village nearby Vienna
o/n Vienna

June 17, 11 Fri
trf to Vienna Airport, head home.

Please continue to watch the forums and read our newsletters for further updates. We are working hard to get all the details nailed down.

If you think you are interested in joining us on this wonderful musical experience, please let us know.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

~ Breakfast will be included
~ Hotels will have AC
~ Tour bus will be modern with AC and bathroom
~ Everyone will receive a Piano World Forums Lapel Pin and a Hat
~ Hoping some of the piano makers will have some sort of goodies to give out :-)
~ Other Goodies to be announced later
~ We are working on fitting in one more piano maker tour/visit (to bring us back up to 4)
~ No entrance means, it is a panoramic tour where we don't go into museums,
only take photo stops, and therefore no entrance costs are included.

Hello again Frank,

The itinerary sounds wonderful. Thank you for all the work you are doing to put this together. I'm putting the dates on my calendar. Please put my name on the list.

Sincerely,
Terry L. Peterson
(Bachsky)

Frank,

I just noticed the "day 0". I think that means June 4. Usually Europe is an overnight flight from the US. So the dates should read June 4-17 for people making travel plans. When leaving Europe for the US you can do that all on the same day because of the travel direction west and the changing time zones.

Terry

Please count me in! As I mentioned before it works well with my conference in Prague, looks like I'll be spending the month of June in Europe! Trip of a lifetime!

Sounds wonderful Frank! Can't wait!

sounds like an incredible itinerary.

for those interested in visiting grotrian, braunschweig is not terribly far from hamburg, iirr.

i've been to both steingraeber and the deustche museum's musical instrument collection. both are not-to-be-missed!

i'd love to be there for any one of those locations, but especially vienna, which i missed out on visiting because i was kidnapped to mittenwald (also definitely worth visiting!)

Looks good. Only critique is . ..
Vienna w/o Boesendorfer??

Hope I can go.

I'd be happy to visit Bosendorfer, if they would like to have us and we can find a way to fit it into the schedule.

If not, depending on how well the 2011 tour goes, we will be happy to go again in 2012 and visit some of the other fine piano makers in the area that we missed this time.

At some point I'd also like to get up to Estonia, and over to Northern Italy (Fazioli) (maybe next tour).

I'd be happy to visit Bosendorfer, if they would like to have us and we can find a way to fit it into the schedule.

Yes, I realize everything can't be done in one shot. I wouldn't bring up going to another town. It just seemed that as long as we were there . . .

I had a friend who had a Vienna tour and, in fact, Bosendorfer was one of the sites they visited.

But in the posted itinerary I only count three: Steinway, Bluthner and Steingraeber.

Yes, we had to take one out because of time constraints.

We are looking at working another visit in somewhere, but we already have a lot on our plates.

Here is a Map of European Piano Builders, courtesy of our own BosieEric...



CLICK for Larger Image
As you can see, we will be traveling right in the heart of piano building country.

This sounds like a wonderful tour! I would be very interested in going!

More details and pricing estimates should be available in the next couple of days.

Please add your name to this thread if you think you might be interested in joining us on this exciting musical adventure.

Hello Frank,

Terry L. Peterson is definitely interested.

My experience tells me that very soon you will need to require a $ deposit. This is essential. A few years ago Brian G. (dealer in Florida) tried to do a similar trip but couldn't get enough paying participants to make it work. We need to put our money where our mouth is so you will know if you have the numbers to make this work. I have led tours abroad and there usually is a minimum number that is needed, expecially to make the details and expense of ground transportation viable. I'm looking forward to the details.

Boesendorfer gave me a tote bag, pen, polo shirt, and literature if that makes any difference...

Hi Terry,

Yes, you are correct, we will need to get a minimum number of people and will need to get deposits. We've been working with a travel agency for a while now. They couldn't give us prices until we firmed up the itinerary.
I think we're about there, although there may still have to be some shifting with the days/times to work around holidays etc.

I'm hoping to post approximate pricing in the next few days.
After that I'll be sending out a newsletter and featuring the tour on the forums.

I'm hoping enough people realize what a wonderful opportunity this really is, and how much fun it will be.

Best,

Frank B.
Piano World

Yes! This works out so nicely for me. Is there some flexibility for those of us already in europe? I would like to attend the whole trip, but if for some reason I can only join a few days later, would it be possible? Also, I won't need plane reservations. My intention would be to take the train up to germany and meet you somewhere there. The last few days in vienna I could just stay at home rather than at the hotel, and just meet you in the mornings. If the price of those nights could be deducted, that would be neat.

If there is no tour possibility for Bosendorfer, could always just pop into the showroom in the first district for a quick look. It's within walking distance of all sights in the 1st district, including the mozart house next to stephan's platz. Specifically the house where he lived for a few years:

Copied from the website:
Domgasse 5 is the only one of Mozart’s apartments in Vienna that still exists today. The composer lived in Mozarthaus Vienna from 1784 to 1787 in grand style, with four large rooms, two small ones and a kitchen. The life and works of this musical genius are presented in and around this apartment on four exhibition levels. In addition to the historical Mozart apartment visitors can find out about the times in which Mozart lived and his most important works. The exhibition focuses on his years in Vienna, which marked a high point in his creativity. The tour starts on the 3rd floor of the building with details of Mozart’s time in Vienna: where he lived and performed, who his friends and supporters were, his relationship to the Freemasons, his passion for games and much more. The presentation on the 2nd floor deals with Mozart’s operatic works, and the apartment on the 1st floor focuses on the two and a half years that Mozart and his family lived there.

PLEASE SEE THIS NEW THREAD with updated itinerary, pricing, and details.