Why the extra keys? The Bösendorfer Imperial Grand Piano (2024)

FAQs

Why the extra keys? The Bösendorfer Imperial Grand Piano? ›

Busoni sought to extend the range to accommodate his transcription of Johann Sebastian Bach's organ works. In order to emulate the 32 foot registers available on some large organs, he needed the entire octave down to C0. The Bösendorfer Imperial features 97 keys: a full eight octaves.

The idea was accepted and the first Bösendorfer Imperial Grand Piano (Model 290) was produced. The extra nine keys not only give additional notes but they enrich the sound of the piano in all registers, generating a deeper and more satisfying sound.

One of only sixty duplex pianos made, this Bösendorfer grand piano was built with 164 keys—the standard 88 on the lower keyboard and 76 on the upper—to a design developed by the Hungarian composer and inventor Emánuel Moór.

Bösendorfer is unusual in that it produces 97- and 92-key models in addition to instruments with standard 88-key keyboards. Along with C. Bechstein, Blüthner and Steinway & Sons, Bösendorfer is frequently referred to as one of the "Big Four" piano manufacturers.

A majority of the wood is located in the outer case of the piano. This alone can drive up costs depending on how thick the case is. Pianos with rich and balanced sound like Steinways, Bosendorfers, and Yamahas tend to have the thicker casings. As a result, the price is higher.

Prices for Steinways and Bosendorfers

A Steinway S grand, 5'1″ in length, ranges from $62,000-70,000. A similarly-sized Bosendorfer 155 is $137,000. However, compared to some European brands, including Bosendorfer, Steinway is far from being the most expensive premium piano brand.

The piano is, in some ways, both a percussion instrument and a string instrument. There are 88 keys on a piano, but more than 200 strings! Why so many strings? The higher notes have more strings, and these strings are thinner.

The most difficult key is C major! In general, the keys that are easiest to learn are simultaneously the least natural for the hand. As a rule of thumb, the more black keys in a given key signature, the more comfortable it will be.

He has designed a grand with an unprecedented 102 keys. The Stuart and Sons grand piano has 14 more keys than most, which means its lowest and highest notes live very much on the edge. Its designer, Wayne Stuart, says a few other grands can play as low as this 102-key model, but none can play as high.

By the end of the 1800's the piano had settled on 88 keys as a standard and the vast majority of pianos produced today feature 88 keys. However, there are pianos made today that have more than 88 keys! The Imperial Concert Grand Bosendorfer piano has 97 keys!

What is the difference between a Steinway and a Blüthner piano? ›

There used to be a saying “a Steinway for the concert hall, a Bechstein for the theatre and Blüthner for the home.” There is a lot of truth in this, as Steinways generally aim for a big powerful tone, Bechsteins for a more subtle tone but still quite powerful, and Blüthner very much more mellow, usually with a lighter ...

In 2008, the Japanese enterprise Yamaha acquires Bösendorfer. Conscious and cautious about the precious heritage Bösendorfer is carrying, the Austrian manufactory remains fully independent and continues to be operated as a separate Austrian company, fully owned by Yamaha.

The difference is very subtle, and you'll need some good headphones / studio monitors to hear the difference, but in general, the Steinway presents a more muted and blended sound, perfect for orchestral works, the Yamaha is slightly brighter, while the Bosendorfer has an emphasis on the bass (the Yamaha and Bosendorfer ...

Quality uprights by Yamaha, Steinway, and Kawai generally sell for more. A quick Google search of your piano model can show what comparable sales would look like. What is this? Grand pianos hold more value, however, lower quality models lose their worth just as fast as uprights.

The difference between Yamaha and Steinway pianos is their pricing, sound quality, action and touch, and design. Steinway pianos are handmade with Canadian maple wood and Alaskan spruce. Yamaha's use Japanese craftsmanship and parts from East Asia and manufactures many of their high-quality components in-house.

Pricing and availability

Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand pianos, handcrafted in Austria, retail for between US$256,000 and $560,000 in the U.S., depending on finish, design and whether the Disklavier Enspire computer reproducing system is installed.

Sir Elton has used Yamaha Disklavier® grand pianos exclusively since he first played one many years ago. "When it comes to my piano," he says, "Yamaha shares my philosophy that anything short of perfect simply isn't good enough. I feel that I can always rely on my Yamaha piano to give me its best."

Key Considerations

For a beginner, 66 keys are sufficient for learning to play, and you can play most music on a 72-key instrument. For anyone interested in playing classical piano, however, a full 88 keys are recommended, especially if you plan on one day playing a traditional piano.

A 61 key piano only has 5 octaves which are not always enough for some repertoire. This may require musicians to transpose and adjust the sheet music to fit the instrument. For this reason, 88 key pianos are the preference as there are no limitations on what music someone can play.

Why is there no black key between E and F on the piano? ›

Two pairs of white keys—E/F and B/C—do not have black keys in between them (see Example 1). This is because E–F and B–C are both half steps. Having the black keys grouped into sets of either two or three makes it easier for a keyboardist to see and feel them more quickly.

From there it's an easy skip to D, the root of today's subject, the “saddest key,” D minor. That the key of D minor is the key of true sorrow is ostensibly inarguable at this point in time.

A-sharp minor is likely the least used minor key in music as it is not generally considered a practical key for composition.

Rachmaninoff is often said to be the greatest pianist of all time, hands down. Rachmaninoff considered himself a romantic, and had a strong desire to continue the romanticism of the 19th century into the 20th century, unlike his Russian counterparts, who were mostly composing modern pieces at the time.

Piano Lessons / piano facts / Where are Pianos Most Popular? Despite the declining industry in the United States, the piano is one of the most popular instruments in the world and nowhere is it more popular than in China.

The best way to master all keys is to play a single song in all keys. This really trains your finger muscle memory and removes all the complexity of learning how to play all keys. Each key comes with 2 songs. Each song covers beginner/intermediate and advanced levels respectively.

Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, two complete sets of 24 Preludes and Fugues written for keyboard in 1722 and 1742, and often known as "the 48", is generally considered the greatest example of music traversing all 24 keys.

C major and G major, along with their relative minor counterparts A minor and E minor, are often considered the best key and scales for Pop music. You can use Major or Minor scales. However, if you want the song to have a happy or upbeat feeling, then the Major scale is best.

The number one most popular is... the space bar. Another fun fact from Goud: 90% of people only use nine fingers when typing — they don't use their left thumb, because they use their right thumb to hammer the space bar.

Do grand pianos get better with age? ›

The answer is: it depends. Old pianos can continue to sound wonderful for many years with regular maintenance and care, but even pianos that have deteriorated can often be restored to their former glory, and in many cases made to sound even better than when they were new.

The action is also different. On a grand the hammers hit the strings from below so gravity plays a bigger role. Perhaps for this reason for me a grand piano often feels heavy while an upright feels stiff. (Another reason might be psychological -- a grand piano has massive sound, thus the action feels massive).

Grand pianos are so expensive because they're made from better quality materials and therefore last longer. As well, the process involved in the making of a grand piano is very complex.

Fazioli Or Steinway? Deciding between Fazioli or Steinway comes down to personal preference. Both piano brands make excellent instruments that lend to different types of pianists. While Steinway has been around for much longer, Fazioli pianos have quickly made a name for themselves on the market.

Yamaha grand piano series have a range of quality standards

In contrast to Steinway's single standard of quality in all of their grand pianos, Yamaha grand pianos come in several different series of varying standards of quality, based largely on the materials used.

Models like Lucid EXO utilize the latest aluminum 3D printing technology, allowing impossibly intricate detailing and shapes to come to life. The price range of Blüthner Lucid pianos is $59,950 to $950,000 based on the model, size, and customization.

It is not surprising that you will find up to 387 piano makers in Vienna back then, suppliers of music, joy and entertainment. In the founding year of the company in 1828, Ignaz Bösendorfer handcrafts four pianos and later increases production to a total of 200 instruments by 1835.

Bösendorfer Grands & Uprights

We are passionate about crafting pianos, ultimately sharing a unique experience of sound, touch and - foremost - emotion. Uncompromising traditional handcrafting, beauty and the Viennese soul: Made in Austria.

Extra keys

The Bösendorfer Imperial features 97 keys: a full eight octaves. This is in contrast to their other extended model, the Bösendorfer 225, which has 92 keys (down to F₀).

Why are there so many keys on a piano? ›

So, why do pianos have 88 keys? Pianos have 88 keys because composers wanted to expand the range of their music. Adding more piano keys removed the limits on what kind of music could be performed on the instrument. 88 keys have been the standard since Steinway built theirs in the 1880s.

The Concert Bösendorfer 290 Imperial and the Grand Piano 225 come with additional bass notes Model 225 has in total 92 notes and our 290 has 97 (8 full octaves) rather than the standard 88 keys.

Unlike xylophones, which have up to 40 keys, or most woodwind instruments, which have a limited number of keys, pianos have a whopping 88 keys. Each key represents a different note, giving the piano a wide range of sounds.

But the instrument's four-octave range was limiting. So, piano manufacturers designed new pianos with more keys, so that composers like Haydn and Mozart could write more challenging material for a fuller keyboard.

Key Considerations

For anyone interested in playing classical piano, however, a full 88 keys are recommended, especially if you plan on one day playing a traditional piano. Many keyboards have fewer than 66 keys. This is common for a synthesizer or keyboard dedicated to producing electronic organ music.

A-sharp minor is likely the least used minor key in music as it is not generally considered a practical key for composition. The enharmonic equivalent B-flat minor, which only contains five flats as opposed to A-sharp minor's seven sharps, is preferable to use.

Glissando basically means a slide over all the keys.

Manufactured over countless hours by our artisans the Bösendorfer Baroque is one of our most extravagant designs. Sophisticated decorations perfect the Ivory coloured satin silhouette of the piano, the individually carved legs, as well as the lavish use of gold, showing the artisan's loving eye for detail.

The piano manufacturer Steinway was the first to come up with the idea of an 88 key piano. They did this in the 1880s, and many other manufacturers have since followed suit. 88 key pianos (including most grand, upright, hybrid and most digital pianos) have seven octaves plus three lower notes below the bottom C.

How many keys does a professional piano keyboard have? ›

As piano music developed and evolved, the keyboard compass was gradually expanded in response to requests from composers who sought a broader potential for expression. By the 1890s, today's modern keyboard had become established with 88 keys spanning 7¼ octaves (from 2A to C5; 27.5 Hz to 4,186 Hz*).

The black keys on a piano are for sharps and flats.