Pianoverse

This dedication to quality has attracted the world’s greatest players throughout the years including Lang Lang, Emanuel Ax, Hélène Grimaud, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, the legendary Russian composer and pianist.

While Steinway’s New York models, like the Pianoverse NY Grand S274, were oriented toward a bell-like tone with huge projection to cut through a 100-piece orchestra and fill larger halls, the Hamburg Steinways were designed more as a substitute for the orchestra, as they were often being played in smaller halls with more ideal acoustics. They offered expanded tonal variety with a gradual shift in timbre color from bass to treble, creating distinctions in tonal qualities across several octaves. The characteristic feature of this sound lies in the articulate round-tone voicing found in the tenor and mid-treble regions.

In recent years more standardized materials between New York and Germany have reduced these unique regional differences, making these mid-century models irreplaceable at any price. Perfectly transported to Pianoverse, the Hamburg Grand S274 rewards the player with this classically clean European sound and a focused tonality instantly recognizable by experienced pianists and technicians. Owning a Steinway D-274 is a dream for many pianists. Now Pianoverse gives you an amazing opportunity to own both very different models and experience these two magnificent pianos side by side.

For the Hamburg Grand S274, we packed our robot-assisted sampling apparatus and traveled to Officine Meccaniche studios in Milan where a gorgeous 1958 Steinway & Sons Hamburg D-274 lives in perfect harmony with its ambient surroundings. We captured the magic using the same preamps as other Pianoverse instruments with no EQ or compression. Using a pair of DPA 4011 as close mics and a pair of Coles 4038 mics in a Blumlein configuration, we take full advantage of the room’s acoustics. The results are spectacular, from the singing voice of the piano to the more prominent impact of its pedals.