OK, you asked for it you got it. Same pianist, same music, same recording gear, same spot in the the same room. Same technician as well.

In this corner, we have a model 205 Steingraeber taking on the mighty golden age rebuilt Steinway B.

Compare, contrast, listen and hopefully enjoy! The Ravel is gorgeous.

Actually, feel free to listen to each a few times as you might notice new subtleties with both pianos with each listen. Be careful though, you will fall deeply in love with the Ravel.

Sorry, but both pianos are sold and in happy homes for quite a while guys!

That's really interesting. The Steinway sounds more mellow, which sometimes works well and sometimes not. It sounds like an old piano to me, although a very nice one. The Steingraeber comes across as cleaner and brighter, but the bass is amazing - with more depth and resonance than the Steinway can muster. Very interesting.

I've listened to both performances twice. Eric Himy is such a wonderful pianist.

Your pianos: it's impossible to rate one better than the other. I might prefer one or the other, but both are gorgeous. Your restoration of the B is world-class.

The colour is clearly different on both instruments. So glad the that B sounds like an American B with a slightly restrained treble, not at all over done. I dislike rebuilding jobs that seek to transform the character and basic nature of the instrument. That is really a dream B.

The Steingraeber seems to have every positive quality of middle-European piano building with none of the possible drawbacks. It's apparent to me that the action of the 205 is wonderfully responsive.

Well, I'm not sure just how "cultured" ( ) I am when it comes to assessing pianos, but I liked the Steinway B better; though the Steingraeber may have been a little cleaner and brighter, as ScottM said.

It was refreshing to see and hear a well prepped piano! (Two of them, actually )

Good job, Keith!

Rick

Eric Himy's performance is breath-taking. I've listened to both performances twice, although it loses so much through PC speakers! If I have to pick a favorite and can't be there to really hear and feel the Ravel live, I think it would have to be the Steingraeber. I loved it's bass and it did have a slightly cleaner treble. Wonderful rebuild on the Steinway - congratulations on the spectacular work! If only I could play that well...maybe if I can live to 250 and practice 6 hours a day.

Don't have a horse in this race but it always a pleasant experience listening to (and looking at) two beautifully prepared pianos. Thanks, Keith D. Kerman.

Two gorgeous pianos! and wonderful performances. I have to admit I like the soulful quality of the Steinway B better but they are both beautiful.


Sophia

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Top shelf pianos and top shelf playing always add up to enjoyable recordings. Thanks! I'm sure both pianos were not on the floor for very long.

I wonder how much time the pianist spent with each piano? Both pianos seemed to possess further levels of nuance that might be realized by being more familiar with the keyboard.

The balance of the Steingraeber supports the tone in a way that frees up the player to use dynamic and tempo contrasts. I enjoyed the clarity of the lower tenor and bass sections.

The right hand notes (money notes) of the Steinway had impressive dynamic expression in a rich warm tone. Supported by a bass and tenor that crescendo waves of layered textures typical in Steinway pianos, typical yet always impressive. My only reservation is that over the last few years, I've found myself becoming less tolerant of the muddy Steinway bass; We can't have everything?

I'm not a little league coach, but both are winners in my book.

I hope that we are not suppose to 'chose' one over the other!

Both spectacular, although different.

And Mr. Himy plays so beautifully. Always! Yup, falling in love with that Ravel.

BTW, there is a higher setting I would suggest listening/watching on. It comes up on you tube as 360P but will go up to 720p for better quality. Especially nice when viewing in the large screen.

Thank goodness for my Boston speakers on the PC!

Thank you, KK. Thank you Eric!

The steingraeber has the clean clear sparkle..but the "B" has that vintage old sound
which I prefer..and another thing I noticed, his playing displayed a lighter touch on the Steinway B..he used a more forceful finger depression on the Steingraeber..

Thanks Karl. Although we are known as a kind of hot rod shop, our first priority is to maintain the authentic voice of the piano we are rebuilding, if it has a voice worth saving, and this one certainly did. It is nice to know that came accross.

You get an A+ for perception here. Eric pretty much sat down cold and played. We had both pianos set up to be exceptionally user friendly, and Eric is quick to adapt.

I had to go back and watch again, but I think you're right. One of the hallmarks of that B is that it works really well at soft volumes and you can see Eric kind of getting into that soft sound world. Also, there is a bit less mass in our Steinway B action then in the Steingraeber action although both are balanced nearly identically.
Neat observation!

What fun! For this particular piece, I prefer the Steinway B. I hear a smoothness in tone throughout that made me concentrate more on the music than the piano. I like the mid-range tone of the Steingraeber, but think the upper treble is a bit too crisp for the Ravel. I'm sure on different styles of music, I'd prefer the Steinbraeber, too.

Mr Himy's performance on the Steinway B seemed a perfect union between the performer and the instrument. I wonder which of the two pianos he preferred playing for this Ravel piece?
Both pianos are fabulous, but I preferred the Steinway for its beautiful purity of tone and refinement of sound.

Thank you Keith for this intriguing comparison. You made that Steinway B into a heavenly sounding piano.

Robert.

I think the Steingraeber sounded like it was trying harder to be a standout. The Steinway just seemed to know it was a Steinway and let the chips fall where they may. This would be more interesting if the audio was captured on a dedicated audio recorder with quality microphones. The video sound was good but not great. There was lots of hiss.

Steingraeber does it for me. Crisp, full, beautiful tone that is consistently beautiful across the entire piano. It starts out in full blossom from the moment the key is played. The Steinway has discernible differences between bass, midrange, and treble - and the una corda in the treble is too back of the throat sounding for my taste. Also, I felt that the Steinway tone was a bit tubby - favoring the lower partials but never really blossoming. The tone of the Steinway seemed to peak and die rather than linger like the Steingraeber. For my ear, the Steingraeber tone was fuller and rounder - more complete - than the Steinway, and it also had much crisper articulation of the notes without being percussive whereas the Steinway at times seemed to be a bit muddy.

i have to go with the steinway's rich warm, rounded sound.

The pianist was able to extract more tonal colors from the Steinway.

I thought the pianist was working harder with the Steinway, but the sound of the Steingraeber just flowed out. The range of tone and dynamics sounded easier to produce on the Steingraeber. Only the pianist knows for sure.

Steingraeber for me.
It just had more of a presence and a stupendous bass to my ears.

I think I need to hear how both of those stack up against an Ellenburg...

The truest test would be if WE could all hear the two piano recordings from the same speakers. So, where are we all going to meet? Perhaps a Piano World Listening Party!