Japanese-Made Pianos Won’t Be Steinways

TOKYO — The world’s leading maker of top-of-the-line concert-quality pianos has decided that a new line of Japanese-made pianos it will begin selling next year will not use the famous Steinway & Sons brand name carried on its famous handcrafted instruments.

The announcement came after earlier reports of Steinway’s deal to have Japanese piano maker Kawai Musical Instruments mass produce a new line of mid-priced instruments created a furor among loyal U.S. customers who feared that a national treasure was in danger.

Although the mid-priced pianos will be sold through Steinway’s dealer network beginning early next year, the Japanese-made pianos will carry a different brand name and will be clearly distinguishable from the top-quality pianos made in Hamburg and New York, said Bruce Stevens, president of Steinway Musical Properties, the holding company that owns Steinway & Sons.

Stevens said the company has established a new unit called Waltham Piano Co. to handle and market the Kawai-made pianos. Steinway Musical Properties is based in Waltham, Mass.

“This product will not be a Steinway. It won’t play like one or sound like one,” says Stevens. “It will be made in Japan.”

Steinway needed the new line of mid-priced pianos to make available to distributors who want to sell a broader range of products but can’t find a supplier, Stevens said. The company turned to Japan, he said, because “it is not possible to make a mid-priced piano without using mass-production technology.”

“To make a truly quality concert grand, you have to make it the way we do,” he said. But the cost of the materials and craftsmanship makes it impossible for Steinway & Sons to produce lower-priced products, he said.

Steinway pianos now sell for $25,000 to more than $100,000 each.