disambiguation . l. b sendorfer klavierfabrik gmbh type private industry musical instruments founded 1828 founder ignaz b sendorfer headquarters vienna austria products pianos parent yamaha corporation website www.boesendorfer.com b sendorfer l. b sendorfer klavierfabrik gmbh is an austrian piano manufacturer and since 2008 a wholly owned subsidiary of yamaha . 1 b sendorfer is unusual in that it produces 97 and 92 key models in addition to instruments with standard 88 key keyboards . contents 1 history 2 characteristics 3 models 3.1 standard black models 3.2 conservatory series 3.3 special and limited editions 3.3.1 se reproducing piano 3.4 designer models 4 noteworthy events 5 b sendorfer artists 5.1 recordings 5.1.1 classical 5.1.2 popular 6 references 7 bibliography 8 external links history edit the founder ignaz b sendorfer the oldest preserved square piano by b sendorfer dating to 1828 b sendorfer one of the oldest piano manufacturers was established in 1828 by ignaz b sendorfer . 2 it has a history of producing highly respected instruments ; in 1830 it was granted the status of official piano maker to the emperor of austria . ignaz s son ludwig b sendorfer 15 april 1835 9 may 1919 assumed control in 1859 operating from new premises from 1860 . between 1872 and its closure in 1913 the associated b sendorfer saal was one of the premier concert halls of vienna . in 1909 carl hutterstrasser purchased the company and was succeeded by his sons alexander and wolfgang in 1931 . in 1966 the jasper corporation later renamed kimball international parent company of kimball pianos assumed control of b sendorfer where it remained before returning to austrian hands when the bawag psk gruppe purchased it in 2002 . 3 bawag signed an agreement to sell all stock in b sendorfer to yamaha on 20 december 2007 . characteristics edit a b sendorfer piano model 214cs b sendorfer pioneered the extension of the typical 88 key keyboard creating the imperial grand model 290 which has 97 keys eight octaves . ferruccio busoni initially ordered this innovation in 1909 as part of a custom piano as he wanted to transcribe an organ piece that extended to the c below the standard keyboard . 4 this innovation worked so well that this piano was added to regular product offerings and quickly became one of the world s most sought after concert grands . because of the 290 s success the extra strings were added to b sendorfer s other line of instruments such as the 225 model which has 92 keys . the extra keys at the bass end of the keyboard were originally hidden beneath a hinged panel mounted between the piano s conventional low a and the left hand end cheek to prevent their being struck accidentally during normal play ; more recent models have omitted this device and simply have the upper surface of the extra natural keys finished in matte black instead of white to differentiate them from the standard 88 . the b sendorfer sound is usually described as darker or richer than the purer but less full bodied sound of other pianos such as steinway & sons or yamaha . on the imperial grand this characteristic tonal quality in part derives from the inclusion of 9 additional bass notes below bottom a. these extra 9 keys were originally added so that pianists could play busoni s transcriptions of j.s. bach s organ works which required the 32 bass pipes usually played on the pedal organ . as very little other music makes direct use of the extra strings they usually contribute to the piano s sonic character not through being played directly but by resonating when other strings in the piano are struck contributing additional body to the tone . moreover the bass notes of the b sendorfer including the extra bass keys are very powerful adding volume in demanding literature . the rim of a b sendorfer grand piano is built quite differently from that of all other grands . instead of veneers bent around a form the rim is made in solid sections of spruce and jointed together . spruce is better at transmitting sound than reflecting it . this is perhaps why b sendorfers tend to have a more delicate treble and a bass that features the fundamental tone more than the higher harmonics . 5 there are also two other features of b sendorfers that are shared with only a few other piano brands one is a removable capo d astro bar in the treble which facilitates rebuilding of the instrument and b sendorfer says provides greater acoustic separation from the plate decreasing tonal absorption ; the other is single stringing providing each string its own individual hitch pin on the plate instead of connecting it to a neighboring string . this design may slightly improve tuning stability and is an advantage in case of string breakage . 6 the latest development in the b sendorfer range is the ceus digital grand piano reproducing system which incorporates a computer controlled mechanism that records a performance and plays it back . the requisite equipment can be fitted to most b sendorfer pianos to allow the direct recording of pieces while capturing all the keyboard velocity data as a . boe file . 7 models edit the removable capo d astro bar is located across the upper two treble sections of the cast iron plate . b sendorfer makes eight models of grand piano from 5 1 to 9 6 and two vertical pianos 48 and 52 upright . the 9 6 imperial grand is one of the world s largest pianos . standard black models edit 8 each numerical b sendorfer model directly corresponds to its length in centimeters . for example a model 170 is 170 centimeters long approximately 5 7 . the following table describes the current b sendorfer models model length m keys 120cl upright 88 130cl upright 88 155 1 55 5 1 88 170 1 70 5 8 88 185 1 85 6 1 88 200 2 00 6 7 88 214 2 14 7 88 225 2 25 7 4 92 280 2 80 9 2 88 290 imperial 2 90 9 6 97 conservatory series edit to appeal to a wider market b sendorfer designed the conservatory series for colleges and universities that could not afford b sendorfer s standard black model pianos . the production of the two cs series pianos spends less time in non critical areas cutting down costs of production and purchase making them more affordable than standard models . the cases and frames are of satin finish rather than polished and initially the pianos were loop strung 9 rather than single strung but that difference has since been abandoned . 10 special and limited editions edit b sendorfer has produced a number of specially designed pianos named after famous composers such as franz schubert fr d ric chopin and franz liszt as well as pianos designed for special occasions such as b sendorfer s 170th and 175th anniversaries . 11 se reproducing piano edit under the ownership of kimball b sendorfer built and sold a small number of 290se automatic reproducing pianos . 12 the se designation was for stahnke engineering whose founder wayne stahnke invented the mechanism . the 290 was fitted with electronics and mechanics to record on magnetic tape and playback through electro mechanical actuation of the piano . after the release of the microsoft windows v3 .1 operating system the 290se could be attached to a pc computer for recording editing and playback . the 290se system was the first commercially available computer controlled player piano capable of accurately reproducing both the notes and intensity of a performer s playing . unfortunately this system was not further developed or patented due to its high cost . competitors soon introduced patented reproducing piano technologies such as the yamaha disklavier in 1982 . 13 thirty seven se models were produced between 1984 and 1986 including the 225se the 275se and the 290se imperial model pianos . in the 290 range this included some 290 to 290se conversions while one third of the production were 290ses that sold for 90 000 . citation needed the research that went into the 290se later laid the foundation for the ceus computerized reproducing piano system . citation needed designer models edit b sendorfer produces a limited number of artisan models annually each available for order only during the calendar year in which it was developed . an example of a designer model is the b sendorfer swarovski crystal grand piano . three of these special pianos were produced in 2003 in honor of b sendorfer s 175th anniversary . each piano s case is encrusted with 8000 crystals and layers of gold . 14 15 three notable architects who have designed b sendorfer piano models are theophil freiherr von hansen 1866 josef hoffmann 1909 and hans hollein 1990 . there were only two hans hollein 225 models produced in 1990 ; one can be found in the lounge of the grand bohemian hotel in orlando florida . 16 noteworthy events edit on 10 april 2007 a second hand b sendorfer model 275 concert grand worth 45 000 but insured for half that amount was damaged when it was dropped 2.5 m 8.2 ft from a delivery truck . the piano was to feature at the two moors festival in devon . b sendorfer replaced the piano with one valued at 85 000 and delivered it personally . 17 18 in 2006 a group of friends of local pianist ward virts commissioned a model 214 as a gift for the fine arts department of the college of southern maryland in his memory . 19 the piano now on campus in a humidity and temperature controlled room is valued at over 85 000 . 10 223 in 2008 a youtube video went viral showing an elderly couple playing the b sendorfer given as a gift in the atrium of gonda building at the mayo clinic in rochester minnesota . 20 fran and marlo cowan had been married 62 years in 2008 when the video was taken . 21 b sendorfer artists edit franz liszt giving a concert for emperor franz joseph i on a b sendorfer piano among the earliest artists to be associated with b sendorfer was franz liszt who at least once opined that b sendorfer and bechstein pianos were the only instruments capable of withstanding his tremendously powerful playing although he purchased and officially endorsed steinway & sons pianos . the renowned twentieth century american composer conductor leonard bernstein has also performed on a b sendorfer . another great pianist who championed b sendorfer pianos was wilhelm backhaus . in his memoirs arthur rubinstein recounts having insisted on a bechstein instead of the hall s b sendorfer before a recital in austria . after the performance the then head of the b sendorfer company came backstage to meet this young artist who refused to play a piano highly cherished by his russian namesake anton rubinstein ; rubinstein claims he thereafter always sought out b sendorfers when in austria . both rubinsteins were steinway & sons artists and played these pianos when in the united states . in the late 1970s following a concert performed in vienna jazz pianist oscar peterson turned to his impresario norman granz with the words dammit norman where does this box go i also got ta have such a thing such was his reaction to playing a b sendorfer 290 . 22 musician comedian victor borge also played b sendorfer pianos . 23 more recent examples of notable artists who have played the b sendorfer include russian pianist sviatoslav richter who in later years chose to promote yamaha claiming it had a preferable pianissimo sound and control according to his own interview ; 24 hungarian pianist andr s schiff ; italian pianist arturo