Battle of the Bösies

We recently received a request to compare two 33 year old 7’4” Bösendorfer 7’6″ Model 225 grand pianos that we currently have in our inventory. One of these pianos belonged to a board member of the Philly Pops and has been played on by Peter Nero. The other is currently being stored in our Germantown factory. Both are simply magnificent! Bösendorfers are legendary for their craftsmanship, artistic design, and consistency of touch and tone throughout the range of the piano. But as with all acoustic pianos, each one has its own unique voice. Many years ago, I learned that the best way to learn about the subtle differences between wines is to taste them side by side.

In that same vein, we’d like to share this unique “piano tasting” between two Bösendorfer 225 grand pianos. Rachmaninoff was requested to sample the pianos, so I play a short excerpt from an exceptional transcription by Earl Wild of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s famous “Vocalise”. Can you hear the differences? Which do you prefer? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below!