Steinway and Sons is sold, and the digitals are probably having a party

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/steinway-sold-to-private-equity-firm-for-438-million/

It was no surprise to read about Steinway selling out to Kohlberg and Company .. Why? because, 1) who has the money to buy a pricey grand 2) Digitals are turning acoustics into dinosaurs.

If I were purist and dismissed all my students who had electronics, I’d be catapulted into bankruptcy.

In all candor, I use my Yamaha Arius 141 as my back-up to two closely-spaced Steinway pianos that eat up most of my living area.

Add in the kitchen-placed digital, and I have nowhere to sleep and eat.

In the past few years I’ve down-sized from 3,000 square feet, to 1300 to about 700. Do the math.

Still, I would rather sleep under the piano, than have it replaced with a fancy, free-standing digital console, even a pricey, glitzy one that’s advertised as a real piano equivalent plus! (Don’t believe it)

But I’m practical. Living cozily beside neighbors who aren’t thrilled with middle of the night, or predawn practicing, I use my Arius to maximum advantage.. like this morning.

I was up at 4 a.m. and itching to practice my Schumann Kinderszenen–especially the newest one–“Knight of the Rocking Horse.”

Decked in earphones, I was ready to tackle the latest finger-tripper.

Incidentally, by the time, I took out my camcorder to capture the event, the sun had risen, so I unleashed Ari.(at half-volume)

Here’s the day’s awakening in prep for my transition to Steinway M–

And the acoustic transfer:

To wit, the popularity of digitals is revealed in the following You Tube I posted about two years ago comparing Roland to Yamaha.

Would the same audience amass to watch me sampling a Steinway beside a Baldwin?

If so, there’s a shred of hope about the future of acoustic pianos, notwithstanding news of the Steinway and Sons sale.