I have recently auditioned all top tier grand pianos under 6’3″, and in fact Steinway and Estonia are my final two shortlisted. From budget perspective, Estonia is about 1/2 of the price of Steinway, making Estonia extremely competitive. From sound perspective, both Steinway (New York) and Estonia are among the top pianos. In my opinion, Steinway sounds better, although the difference is not big. However, the difference could also be very small between a silver and gold Olympic medalist. In other words, differences can be small but substantial, and there is no way to quantify such difference to justify the price based on that.

For what it’s worth, I recently purchased an Estonia L190 and I’m very pleased with it. I was glad I saved the money over purchasing a Steinway, and I’m usually one who prefers to have the “best.” I haven’t been pining away for a Steinway, in other words, so that says something. I have been playing for hours each day and I never get tired of it. It is really true that new pianos change their sound as they settle in. It has continued to improve, or maybe I’m just getting better at playing it, but it really has a gorgeous tone. I play mostly classical so it suits my repertoire very well.

… I cried while playing just one chord on the Estonia:

1) I had only touched it because it was well within my price range to begin with, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered in the first place;
2) I cried because it was the tone, touch, feel, etc that I had been looking for for the past 20 years and could never find just the right one. And with one chord, I could tell. I always figure with ANY instrument, you can tell with just one chord or note if it’s the right one. If you have to play it for an hour to convince yourself, then it’s all wrong.

The above were all comments made to the Piano World Forum about Estonia pianos, the make of piano which was recently donated to the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. In answer to those who wanted to hear the Estonia piano, here is a video distributed by the company:

From the company’s brochure, you can read:

The Estonia piano is an instrument combining traditional European craftsmanship
and the highest quality European components and materials. At the same time it is
using cutting edge engineering and acoustic science to produce the desirable, singing,
warm and romantic piano tone.

Our hearts are in what we perceive to be the ideal sound – warm, rich, deep and romantic.

I was astounded to find the price list for new Estonia pianos.

Compare this to a price list for new Steinway pianos. I guess that’s why some people have described the Estonia as half the price of a Steinway.

What an incredible gift this piano was from the estate of Janice Chan Parrott. The Lutheran Church of Honolulu is so blessed!

I’m just so sorry that Carl Crosier didn’t have a chance to play it.