In Search of the World's Greatest Pianos, Part Nine: 1903 Mason & Hamlin CC "Golden Age"

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7 жыл бұрын

A very rare 1903 Mason and Hamlin Concert Grand.
I get a fantastic opportunity to sit down in front of one of the rarest concert grands ever made stateside. It is reported that the full production run was a total of 18 pianos. It is also true that just recently Mason & Hamlin has once again started producing a very limited number of these pianos.

Пікірлер: 37

@pnoman316 3 жыл бұрын

Love hearing you play!

@paulvannessspianoworld1724 Жыл бұрын

I like your slower tempo! Many rush through, etude-like. You are very musical!

@judsonmusick3177 7 жыл бұрын

Very impressive piano. Good playing too.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

It's a very rare piano. This is the only CC our family has ever seen from the Golden Age. There are a handful of new ones, but still quite rare.

@gillig87 7 жыл бұрын

by far my favorite sounding of your comparisons. each slight note songs on its own amongst the rest. just beautiful.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

It does have a unique vintage sound to it.

@albertpeckham8708 3 жыл бұрын

Bravo! Maestro! I 've always loved the breadth of tonality of a CC M&H! I played my senior recital on a similar piano at WMU. I now own a restored RBB and love every day I get to play it. Thank you for your impressive performance. Merci mille fois!

@brandonburrell8517 6 жыл бұрын

Love the dramatic footage with the beautiful playing. Tres genial.

@peternagy7366 7 жыл бұрын

Is it just me or does this piano have huge cheek blocks? I'm a big fan of older instruments and M&H, so this was something special. The sound is so wonderfully cohesive; the is little tonal variation between the registers.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

Yes, the cheek blocks are gigantic. I have a number of Mason & Hamlin videos on my channel. You might need to do a little digging to find them, but I've got videos of brand new CC's at the M&H factory, as well as some of their pianos from NAMM and more. They have a lovely tone and a really fantastic bass.

@michaelandcarolblackburn103 7 жыл бұрын

Awesome! I have an 1887 Mason & Hamlin screwstringer upright. Have you played one of those? I'd love to see your video if you have and you could direct me to it. Mine is unfortunately in dire need of work; loose center pins, stuck keys, etc. but I can still play it. I got it 10 months ago and have a video up of a short version of "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin if you'd like to hear it. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a technician who wants to repair it for me. I've learned to tune it myself and think I'm going to have to learn to repair it too. I don't know if I am up to that; I've taught myself to play and that's been fun but I'm scared to start pulling this beautiful piano apart because it's all I've got.

@Nightyyou 7 жыл бұрын

I liked the "walk around" of the camera.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

In this series we have kept the camera stable to allow the viewer to focus on the audio rather than be distracted by the visual images. We reason this one was different was that we were unable to video from the standard area due to a very bad back lighting situation. We video them as we find them. We are happy just to find a nice one that is in tune.

@ibsoarin 7 жыл бұрын

I have a chance to look at and play a 1905 Mason & Hamlin AA. I hope that it will play as well as described. I hope it has a lighter touchweight than the Steinways I have tried.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

Most of the older pianos I have found, even the ones that have been rebuilt have actions that need a great deal of work to play well.

@ibsoarin 7 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your opinion. I appreciate all of the videos you have produced which showcase a broad spectrum of both vintage and new pianos. I was so happy to see and appreciate this 1905 Mason & Hamlin AA piano. It has a new home where it will be loved and appreciated for many years. The previous owner was happy that this piano will continue to provide quality entertainment. Music is food for the soul.

@ibsoarin 7 жыл бұрын

I was pleasantly surprised by the rich, full bass of the 1905 Mason & Hamlin AA. In spite of the 6' 2" length of the AA, the bass was impressive. The only explanation I can fathom is the "Tension Resonator" of this vintage Mason & Hamlin continues to maintain the rim's original integrity and consequently, the sound board's crown.

@judsonmusick3177 7 жыл бұрын

Very nice, James. How does the touch and tone of this 1903 piano compare to the modern Mason & Hamlin CC grands?

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

I'll be doing a video in which I compare the 1930's Steinway with this 1903 Mason, and will be comparing the actions on the two. Great question.

@judsonmusick3177 7 жыл бұрын

James, I hope either the Sauter Omega 220 or Sauter Concert 275 piano are on your list of "World's Greatest Pianos" to audition.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

Find us one in California. :) I actually have never played on one of these pianos before, but if I had, they most likely would have been a part of this series.

@judsonmusick3177 7 жыл бұрын

R. Kassman in Berkeley, California is a dealer. This is another piano highly regarded by Piano Buyer and the Piano Forum/Piano World blog. By the way, Sauter is the world's oldets piano manufacturer still in existence. It was founded in 1819. The Sauter family is still involved in the operation of the firm, and still owns a substantial equity interest.

@judsonmusick3177 7 жыл бұрын

Beethoven Pianos in New York City and Northwest Pianos in Bellevue, Washington would be two other Sauter dealers.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

I have tried to drop by R. Kassman in Berkeley, but he is by appointment. I am sure over time that I will find many of these harder to find pianos as this will be an on going series. It has always been something I have liked to do and plan on working very hard to fill in the gaps over time.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

Judson, when you get the time message me.

@hansroemerszoonvanderbrikk7626 7 жыл бұрын

That's amazing! The action is a little noisy but the piano is wonderful. Are you sure in 1903 there was the third pedal available?

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

I don't believe that the pedals were altered, but I'll talk about the pedals in more detail in an upcoming video.

@VeganGoddess79 6 жыл бұрын

You are certainly playing the impromptu in this video, but the audio is NOT live from this video is it? It is from another recording, correct?

@ThePianoforever 6 жыл бұрын

This was a live recording taken at the time on this very piano. The idea of this series to compare actual pianos playing the same pieces.

@VeganGoddess79 6 жыл бұрын

So there are two different recordings, one video of you playing with no sound, and one audio of you playing which you dubbed over the video recording?

@ThePianoforever 6 жыл бұрын

We use a recording device to record the audio at the same time the camera is recording the video.

@judsonmusick3177 7 жыл бұрын

Another piano to add to your "World's Greatest Pianos" list would be August Forster. There are a handful of dealers in the U.S.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

I have never heard of August Forster before! What country are they based out of? And where are the dealers? I'd like to see these pianos.

@judsonmusick3177 7 жыл бұрын

August Forster is located in Lobau, Germany. Piano Buyer thinks very highly of them, as does the Piano Forum/Piano World blog. Allegro Pianos in Stamford, Connecticut, Altenburg Piano in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Woods & Son Piano in Brighton, Colorado are dealers.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

Judson, let me see what I can do.

@judsonmusick3177 7 жыл бұрын

We're in luck, James. I've found an August Forster dealer in California! It is Pianos Wholesale, in Temple City, California, near Los Angeles.

@ThePianoforever 7 жыл бұрын

Wow!!! We were just in the area about 3 weeks ago for NAMM. It's about 600 miles from where we live, but I know we will be back there in the future.