I was there the last week of a month's stay by Kurt Weissman, our head rebuilder.

What a spectacular place to visit. I thought I knew music history, but.... to walk where Mozart walked, to see what Brahms saw, to drink coffee at a cafe where Liszt hung out... this was awesome!!



Das Bosendorfer cafe is on Bosendorferstrasse. This is a cute little sandwich shop where you can get coffee or a beer or a glass of wine. It is not affiliated with the piano in any way, except that it is on the street named for the instrument. I wanted to eat here, but simply did not have time.



Just in case you thought I was teasing you, there IS a Bosendorferstrasse.



The Musikverein is Austria's version of Carnegie Hall. Musicians and ensembles from the world over perform here today, as did Johann Strauss and Liszt.



At the Salon Bosendorfer (located inside of the Musikverein) pianists meet and congregate. There are occasionally "meet the artist" type receptions here and there is a kitchen, wonderful coffee, and even better pianos on display there all the time.



At the Salon, I met my friend Simon Oss, who has recently been promoted to manager of most of Europe. (I am truly not clear on exactly which countries he is involved with, so Simon, if you see this, please fill us in). He is a fine gentleman and had fantastic coffee waiting for us when we arrived.



The church on Karlplatz, one of the historic plazas complete with fountains and almost nightly outdoor concerts. Sorry, I cannot remember its name, but it sher is perty!



Kurt Weissman, our head rebuilder, just spent a month at Bosendorfer. He was learning, but also teaching (which is waayy cool). Here we are examining some wood that is aging naturally. Bosendorfer never uses a kiln as it can "bruise" the natural characteristics of wood.



Here Kurt and I are standing with Bosendorfer's new president, Mr. Sakei. The woman with us is my sister Beth, who came with me as my wife could not.

Here are a few more images. First, back to the factory. Some have said in the past that the Bosendorfer factory spends more time on their plates than most manufacturers do on their entire piano. There is truth in that statement.

Here is a plate that has been sanded and prepped and has coats of sealant on it. Where ever you see some color other than the yellow primer, there was a blemish or uneven area in the finish. The worker was working with a chamois at the time, polishing the points where all of the struts meet so it would have a completely even surface.



Next, coats of finish are applied. You are seeing the finish being wetsanded. Again, they are trying to achieve the smoothes possible finish. This has absolutely nothing to do with tone.



Bosendorfer has a removable Capo D'Astro bar. This "pressure bar" keeps the treble strings under the optimal tension to achieve the finest sound possible in the treble. This much is common in many brands of pianos. As the piano ages, however, the treble strings can cut into the plate which compromises the termination point in this section. The Capo bar can be replaced if this happens, instead of shaving it down with a file, which is the only option on most other pianos.



Here we examine the rim and posts of a frame that is being completed. This body is entirely made of soundboard quality white spruce.



Speaking of soundboard quality white spruce, here is a board about to be installed into a piano.

Trivia question[/b]:

What model Bosie is this soundboard going into? Is it going into a normal run model or a CS series? Why did you choose your answer??

Rich :

What a wonderful picture-story. I am envious of your trip, but tnanks for sharing it.

Regards,

Just a couple more really cool pics. This is St. Stephens, that is basically surrounded by Vienna:



After going up almost 400 steps in a tiny little circular staircase, you are treated to this view from the spire:



This is the interior of the Royal Austrian Library. It is quite beautiful. Unfortunately we could not touch any of the books. I was dying to page through a few.



In the Museum of Ancient Musical Instruments I had a few favorites as well. This is a portable reed organ. Your friend stands at the opposite end and pumps the bellows while you play. When you are done, just close it up, fold over the cover, latch it, and carry it home like a briefcase:



Lastly, the Natural Science Museum. This is the main staircase - all marble and adorned with sculptures of many of history's greatest scientists:



Whew! This was a fantastic trip. I suggest a PW tour of some European piano factory next year. There are great fringe benefits!!

Rich,
what great pictures of a fantastic trip! Would love to visit there myself someday, includiing the Bosie factory. Thanks for sharing these!


Sophia

Wonderful stuff, Mr. Galassini. Thanks

What great pics, Rich. Thanks for sharing. I hope to get to Vienna someday.

I wish *MY* siblings would take me on European vacations...

Terrific photos, Rich. Thanks.

[patiently waiting for answer to soundboard trivia question. I'm going to guess that it's for the CS series, but it's just a guess.]

Rich, thanks for including specifics of Bosie's design and prep.

Nicely chosen snaps, too.

Monica said:

[/b]

OK. Your guess is duly noted - but remember the "why". Why did you say that? (Not saying you are right though).

Oh man. I forgot the "why." [wildly speculating here] Uh, because of the visibly patterned grain?

Hey Rich,

Awesome photo diary of the trip! Thanks so much for posting all of that!

Trivia answer:
deleted.

[/b]

Jeff,

Well, I am a little taller than you are.

You are correct. But I knew YOU could answer the question! This was for others to try to answer. geez!

Rich,

Thank you for sharing your fabulous photos.
I toured the Bose factory and show rooms way back in 1987.
Your trip brought back some wonderful memories for me.

All the best,

Bear

Rich,

Thank You - Thank You - Thank You!

Such wonderful photos, such a delightful trip, and you are so kind to share the experience with us.

Did you happen to pack up a portable reed organ and bring it home? It would be a great piece of carry-on baggage. I'm not sure if it would stow under the seat in front of you, however.

Great photos of what was clearly a spectacular trip. It must have been wonderful to see the birthplace of so much music and so many glorious pianos . Thanks for sharing the pictures!

Beautiful tour pics Rich.
Thank you, I now want to go to Vienna!

One question - why are your arms tired?

Beers?

Mike

Awsome,I'm in envy that you could get away to experience this incredible excursion. Lifes to short!,I guess I gotta make time

If you envision a high end autobody & paint shop tbeir plate prep is no different than the hood of a new Mercedez. It's all in the prep!

Great pictures and stories Rich.

This is exactly the type of combination fly/cruise I was hoping we could put together.
I agree, Europe would be the place to take the PW crew.

Thanks for sharing, I'm jealous now.

Fabulous trip, Rich!!

Nice to see that Boesendorfer is obviously doing very well!!

Special thanks that you didn't show Vienna's main Ernst Heppel Soccer Stadium where Germany just lost the Euro soccer championship to Spain - as I had earlier 'predicted'....

http://www.pianoworld.com/Uploads/files/Fussballstadium2.jpg

But here's something that you certainly *should* have shown - Austria's world famous 'Sachertorte': even more important than all the other stuff in town ...

http://www.pianoworld.com/Uploads/files/Sachatorte.jpg

However,I must admit your visit was certainly highly 'cultured'.

How about a few last cool pics??

There is a collection of historic armor that ranges from simple breastplates to full suits of gold encrusted mail for ceromonial use.




Also, we took the regional train out to Danube and went through the gardens there. Here is the Danube Tower, which has a restaurant at the top and I am pretty sure part of it rotates.





The view from the tower was cool. Here is the Blue Danube and the surruonding village:





And some of the gardens:

Enough of the pictures and travelogue, where are the Austrian Chocolates you promised me????

Thanks Rich. I'm hopeful that the Yamaha-Boesendorfer tie-up will secure the long-term viability of Boesendorfer. I still have wonderful memories of the ravishing Imperial I used to occasionally play on when at university.

Rich, thanks for the pics, you certainly did not waste your time there..

It is beautiful to see that Boesendorfer seem not to lose anything of its features with the new bosses.

but the big question is just how "blue" is the Blue Danube!

Great pic's, Rich! Thanks for sharing. I'll most likely never be able to travel to places like that so the pictures are a great substitute to the real thing!

Best regards,

Rickster

Hey Rich

The factory just called...seems they're missing a couple "items"...they said you'd know what they were talking about.

Just curious, how DID you get that set of wood chisels and the spruce log on the plane??

Really great photos, Rich. Thank you for sharing!

Great pics, Rich! I've been to Vienna a couple of times, but sure didn't see as much as you did!

The Bosie factory sounds amazing.

Joe,

The factory WAS amazing. Frankly, because of the work that we do here in Philly to Bosies, it was nothing new... until I met the people and found how dedicated and passionate they were.

BoseEric said:
[/b]

Well, once I cut it down to easily concealed slices, the log was easy to sneak out.