Top 6 Asian Piano Brands
How do Asian Piano companies that produce Upright Pianos and Grand Pianos compare to their European counterparts? It is important to note that most piano companies are not independent, and a large chunk of European and American pianos are owned by or produced by Asian piano companies. E.g. Steinway’s “Boston” line is manufactured in the Kawai factory, “Essex” line is manufactured in the Pearl River Factory, Yamaha owns the Austrian company Bösendorfer, and many more! The “made and manufactured in Europe” pianos come with a hefty price tag, much like automobiles and technological devices. For a fraction of the cost, the following Asian brands of pianos are guaranteed to be of high quality and perfectly suitable for in-home or studio use.
Chinese Brands
Hailun
A new piano company just over 20years old. Hailun has hired the Who’s Who of the piano industry to produce excellent pianos with a distinctive European-like warm and rich tone, with heavier action than the majority of other piano brands. Piano Builders, Designers, and Technicians from brands Baldwin, Mason & Hamlin, Bösendorfer, Bechstein, and Steinway & Sons create these Premium upright and grand pianos that will change all of your assumptions about Chinese-made instruments!
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Pearl River
Established in 1956, Pearl River Piano Group is China’s largest piano manufacturer, and has the largest piano factory in the world. In 1998, Pearl River became the first company in China to receive International Standards Association Certification, which is awarded following a lengthy audit of quality systems, manufacturing systems, assembly procedures and customer service. They were also awarded an ISO14001 certificate that relates to environmental standards. Yamaha established a joint venture with Pearl River in 1995 to build pianos for the Chinese market. Steinway & Sons also manufactures all models of their “Essex” line of grand pianos & Uprights with the Pearl River Piano Group. Hallet Davis & Co. was originally formed in Boston, US in 1843. Since 2015, Pearl River exclusively produces the Hallet & Davis signature series.
Korean Brands
Samick
Founded in 1958, Samick now manufactures instruments through its subsidiary brands as well e.g. Wm. Knabe & Co, Kohler & Campbell, Seiler (German) pianos among many more. Samick also has a joint venture factory in China with Bechstein Pianos.
Young Chang
Established in 1956 as a distributor of Yamaha pianos for Korea and other parts of Asia. Young Chang was one of the largest of the world’s piano manufacturers in the 1990s alongside Samick, Yamaha and Kawai. The company also produces pianos for other companies e.g. Knabe, Cline, and Wurlitzer (Baldwin). The company also builds Weber Pianos since 1986 that is established for the English-speaking markets, Kurzweill electronic & digital musical instruments, and joined by Joseph Pramberger, the former VP of Steinway & Sons. In 2004, Samick acquired a large stake in Young Chang, and Hyundai Development company acquired Young Chang in 2006.
Japanese piano brands
Yamaha
YAMAHA’s history has began when Toraku Yamaha, founder of Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd-later renamed YAMAHA Corporation repaired a broken reed organ. Shortly thereafter, he successfully completed the first reed organ to be built in Japan in 1887. Then the first piano to be made in Japan was an upright built in 1900 by him. Just two years later, the Nippon Gakki factory resonated with the tones of its first grand piano. During this early period, the company focused on manufacturing instruments for the Japanese market, where interest in Western classical music was still relatively new. Today, Yamaha has grown to become not only the world’s largest manufacture of music instruments but also a leading manufacturer of semiconductors, audio/visual, computer related products, sporting goods, home appliances and industrial robots. This incredible name recognition has allowed them to price their pianos at a high price point. https://hub.yamaha.com/a-brief-history-of-yamaha-pianos/
Kawai
On the contrary, KAWAI’s singular focus is on musical instruments, specifically, pianos. Koichi Kawai, founder of KAWAI Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was taken in as an apprentice at Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd-later renamed YAMAHA Corporation by his neighbor Toraku Yamaha. Kawai became a member of the research and development team that introduced pianos to Japan. After Yamaha’s death, new management took over control of Yamaha’s company and began to diversify its production line. This led Kawai to leave Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd then he established the Kawai Musical Instrument Research Laboratory in 1927. https://www.kawai-global.com/company/history/