New York Times article by Harold Shonberg, published on that day, reports the new tendency among the most notable Steinway artists to avoid Astoria-built Steinway & Sons grand pianos. Virtuoso pianists Claudio Arrau, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Horacio Gutiérrez, Maurizio Pollini, Peter Serkin and many others do not abandon Steinway & Sons brand completely, but rather choose Hamburg-built Steinway & Sons grand pianos. The high standing of Hamburg Steinways reputation is due largely to Walter Günther’s – and his conservative German predecessors’ – resistance to all recent American innovations: Hamburg pianos include neither Diaphragmatic Soundboard, nor Accelerated Action, nor Teflon bushings, nor plastic key covering. Hamburg still builds models A and C, considered deprecated and taken out of manufacturing in America.