Bluthner pianos
Bluthner pianos are mellow sounding pianos, designed in outstanding German engineering. The action of typical Bluthner pianos is located on the heavy side, enabling the piano to produce a rich, smooth, beautiful sound, particularly in the central area of the keyboard. Bluthner designs both the uprights and grand pianos Many Bluthner pianos come with outstanding fit and finish, and a unique, silken touch which is supreme to any other piano model. The tone of the pianos is also unrivalled- a prototypical high-end German; tight, clean, and unadulterated. Bluthners are also renowned for their singing tone, outstanding repetition and responsive action, tuning stability, and their technical reliability of internal components.
The history of Bluthner pianos is as unsurpassed as the pianos themselves. Founded in 1853 by Julius Bluthner, the Bluthner Company has been designing and producing Bluthner pianos for around 150 years, relaying the reigns and passion for piano making from generation to generation in a manner that no other piano making company has been able to accomplish in the world. By 1885, Bluthner was the leading piano making company in Europe, before it was overtaken by Bechstein in 1905. Its early success revolved around exhibitions, conservatories, and music concerts.
Most Bluthner pianos utilize a complex technology of using a sympathetic string, known as ‘aliquot’ to augment the instrument’s weakest register through enhancing the overtone continuum of the piano. The sympathetic string runs parallel to the other strings, but is slightly elevated at the area that is hit by the hammer to avoid being struck directly. It trembles in sympathy with other parallel strings. String resonance occurs when harmonic notes are played because the sympathetic string remains free of damper. The sympathetic resonance is responsible for the unique, outstanding, and beautiful tones that Bluthner pianos have come to be known for.
Bluther pianos come in many different types and designs. But the special lightweight piano used on Zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg amazed many piano enthusiasts. The instrument’s harp plate was made of aluminum, effectively reducing its weight by about 100 Kg. The Bluthner piano was the first of its kind to be used in-flight in an air-concert radio transmission.
Bluthner pianos have been widely used by conductors, music artists, royals, composers, and performers. Among the notables include Johann Strauss, Claude Debussy, Johannes Brahms, and Dmitri Shostakovich. Their wide usage underlines their uniqueness and great outstanding tone. Indeed, one Bluthner piano owned by music producers Abbey Road Studios in London was invaluably used in the album Let it Be by the Beatles. Today Bluthner pianos are owned by over 150,000 individuals around the world.
Bluthner pianos are mainly in the form of grands, branded depending on their size. For example, the “Style 11” concert grand is the largest in the Bluthner’s range of instruments. The company mainly concerns itself with producing 4 brands of uprights, namely the overstrung over-damper, the straight strung over-damper, the overstrung under-damper and the straight-strung under-damper. Bluthner pianos are a worthwhile investment, and offer the best value for money due to the detailed technology and tested equipment used in their production.