Ori Bukai, founder and owner of N.Y.- and Connecticut-based Allegro Pianos, shared his impressions about how and why Bösendorfer has been gaining more traction in the U.S. market over the past dozen years. "A decade or two ago, the higher price range of the North American market was completely dominated by Steinway," says Bukai. "A rise in the amount of information available on the Internet gave consumers the knowledge to discover that there's more than one game in town, and so in the past few years, there's been a greater openness toward true high-end pianos coming from Europe. Bösendorfer has benefitted from this trend and it continues to grow.
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Another major growth factor stems from a commitment to continual refinements and overall improvements in product build quality and sound. According to Bukai, Bösendorfer implemented major redesign aspects around the year 2000, resulting in marked improvements in the response and tone stability of the pianos produced since then. "As a major Bösendorfer dealer, we receive pianos of varied vintages routinely," he continues. "It's impressive to see the much greater level of refinement exhibited by new or newer production pianos produced over the past five to ten years over Bösendorfer pianos made in the 1990s and early 2000s even if the latter have been perfectly maintained and are in the best of condition. [To me] it seems that they took particular care over the past few years to ensure that every piano it produces not only lives up to the company's reputation, but also further enhances it."
These changes have enabled Bösendorfer to maintain its reputation as a prestigious brand among private buyers who are looking for "the best" in terms of musicality, design and craftsmanship. For a high-end dealer such as Allegro Pianos, current buyers attracted to those qualities consist of three main categories. "Some are very wealthy, discriminating buyers, who expect and get the utmost in terms of quality and service," notes Bukai. "Others are individuals and families who come to our gallery looking for a midstream instrument, but during their visit realize that a higher-quality instrument will provide more pleasure and value over the many years they are likely to own it." The third type of private buyers are successful artists who, as Bukai explains, "have reached a level of success that allows them to focus on the musical merits of an instrument for their personal use rather than any commercial considerations offered by other manufacturers."
Beyond product merits, how are piano dealers faring with Bösendorfer's current corporate structure, with Yamaha at the helm? For high-end dealers such as Allegro Pianos, which is consistently recognized each year by Bösendorfer as a top dealer, the answer is, "very well," both in terms of sales and their relationship with the company. "Having been a Bösendorfer dealer both prior to, and after Yamaha's purchase of the brand, I can attest that it has been a very positive development," affirms Bukai. "Some of my best customers are very successful bankers who either play the piano or value piano lessons for their children. However, for a piano company, being owned by bankers or financial institutions is not an ideal situation. The transition of ownership from Bawag to Yamaha has definitely benefited Bösendorfer."
After the change in ownership, production has remained in Austria and was enhanced by investments not only in equipment, but in the dealer support network as well. And that included gathering dealer input that would help navigate the company's course of action under its new leadership. Bukai pleasantly recalls the numerous visits from multiple high-ranking Yamaha personnel inviting him to share his thoughts on the Bösendorfer brand and his needs. "It's clear that Yamaha studied the ground carefully after the purchase," he concludes.
