COLLECTION ESTONIA
The precious jewel known as the Estonia piano is produced in very limited quantity, and is often referred to as “the best kept secret” in the piano world.
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“Probably the best value among high-end pianos.”
- Piano Buyer Guide
State owned for almost half a century, Estonia pianos
were seldom heard of outside the USSR until the fall
of the Soviet Union in 1991.
For the next 5 years, the company would struggle to
regain its prestige and identity, until 1995 when it was
sold to Indrek Laul (at the time a doctoral piano
student at the Julliard).
Thus began the long process of reestablishing Estonia
as a model of prestige and quality. With premium
sourcing of materials, a new factory, and gradual
improvements to their manufacturing process, Estonia
regained their prominence as one of the world’s finest pianos.
Additional performance upgrades have cemented Estonia’s place amongst the highest tier and rated same tier as Steinway by Piano Buyer Guide*, yet as the much more affordable option, Estonia has clearly become a “no-brainer” within high class of pianos in terms of quality and value.
The Estonia piano is “probably best value among high-end pianos”.*
Concert pianist Marc-André Hamelin, after choosing an Estonia piano for himself, commented, “The level of craftsmanship in the Estonia piano can only inspire the highest respect and I have no doubt that this piano will continue to prove essential to sensitive musicians.”
Made in one of Europe’s oldest, most traditional nations, each Estonia represents a cultural icon of lasting beauty. This is a piano built for generations.A wonderful musical instrument where quality and price meet at an almost impossible junction. Today, the demand for this precious jewel far outstrips supply.”**
* Based on the ranking system in industry-standard reference guide – Pianobuyer
** Based on FORBE MAGAZINE
“Closely resembling the Hamburg Steinway in both sound and touch, the Estonia combines in one instrument some of the best qualities of the great American pianos with those of the high-end Europeans.
Its rich, full-bodied, and three-dimensional sound is American-like, whereas its purity and clarity are European-like.
Its most distinguishing feature is its wonderfully sustaining, lyrical tone. More than anything else, it is this quality
of tone that defines the Estonia piano and gives it its own special place in the high-end market.”
Fact is that For substantially less than the cost of a new Steinway you can own an Estonia grand,
a 100% hand built European of true heirloom quality. You will notice an immediate difference
upon inspection: high end quality control in all cosmetic details and rock solid construction.
The pianos have a feel and sound quality not found in others anywhere near their
price range while being just slightly more than Japan’s mass produced
Yamahas, Kawais, or Bostons. Yet this piano resembles much
closely the Hamburg Steinway as Piano Buyer had pointed out.
In addition, Estonia pianos have complete Renner actions
made in Germany, the same as used by Fazioli,
Hamburg Steinway, Bosendorfer and most other tier
one pianos.”
Piano Buyer: [Fall 2009 page 75]
CRAFTSMANSHIP
Estonia grand and concert pianos are the result of an ideal - to craft inspiring instruments by hand using only the best suited, and therefore limited, materials and parts by the most experienced craftsmen in Europe.
To build a truly hand-crafted piano in the European tradition, Estonia sets the standard then seeks out only proven European partners to supply each selected piano component.
In order to qarantee the right quality, they are sand-cast, seasoned, and only the best plates pass the final selection. We have one year of iron plates in our inventory, and only the best would be selected. It takes modern machinery to make even the rough surfaces and prepare for our mirror-like polish finishes,, at which our craftsmen show their experience. We continue to test them, to make sure that they do not interfere with the piano sound but are there to support the structure.
Dense rims are important for a rich sound, plus solid beams support the overall tension of the piano structure, further adding to the balance and longevity of the instrument. Multiple layers of select North-European birch are glued together in a press where they dry over a long time; in addition, the outer frame is set aside to cure separately thereafter. After curing and testing, the wood is further shaped according to exact measurements to form the rim.
This uniques feature - to have the piano components all connected and supportive - is an old tradition. How many other makers would spend the time to set the keybed into the piano rim? It is a lot more time consuming process, as compared to attaching the keybed separately under the rim. Estonia continues the old traditions of European piano making.
The look of the ebony polish finish, made with the Euroepan, shiny polyester laquer, is classic - very elegant and very European. It protects the piano surface and lets minor scratches, if they were to come from using the instrument, to be polished out.
The highest grade of wood is shipped to the Estonia factory, where our craftsmen will now set their years and years of experience into making the most musical board for your piano. Very important is the way the wood would be treated – to have instrument’s musical tones as natural as possible, as pure as possible. The same highest quality resonance spruce is used on all piano models, from smallest to the largest grands.
The process of stringing the instrument begins by inserting a wire through the hole in the tuning pin. The wire makes three coils around the tuning pin before being driven into the pin-block beneath the cast iron plate. The system works together, as the cast iron plate resists the tension of the wires while the pin-block resists the torque to create stability between tunings. Our pins come from the Biene Company in Germany, and have been long tested for your quality.
Our keyboards are either handmade in our factory or ordered from the Kluge Company, Germany. Each key is carefully crafted, sanded, and tested. We use the highest quality resonance spruce for its light weight and reponsiveness. Keytop material is from the Kluge company as well. Felts come from the Renner factory, the same that makes the actions.