- Steinway & Sons introduces to the press its second line of pianos, manufactured at the Kawai Musical Instruments Company for Steinway Musical Properties, and named “Boston Pianos”.
- The new piano line is to be sold by Steinway & Sons dealers, and is designed to compete with the mid-priced pianos from the Far East, flooding the market from such makers as Yamaha, Young Chang – and Kawai.
- The Boston pianos are available in four grand-piano models ranging in length from 5 feet, 4 inches to 7 feet, 2 inches. Four vertical models range in height from 44 inches to 52 inches. The line does not include a concert grand.
- According to the press kit, the new Boston Pianos have been developed in the course of six years (which means that the development started immediately after Steinway Musical Properties has been formed.)
- Steinway & Sons’ president Bruce Stevens announces at the press conference that Boston Pianos have been designed at Steinway & Sons’ Astoria factory, by the group of engineers, neither of whom has ever designed a piano before, but they all have taken a one-day scale design seminar, and are good with computers.
- Bob Dove, the general manager of Boston Piano Company, describes Boston piano as “designed by Steinway & Sons engineers, drawing upon 139 years of expertise and tradition, and these designs, while not the same as Steinway’s, do share some of the same attributes and are what set the Bostom piano apart from other pianos in its class. The Boston is manufactured in a state-of-the-art plant, benefiting from the latest computer controlled equipment and exacting quality control.” Bob Dove also emphasizes that the project is not a joint venture with Kawai; Boston pianos are being built at Kawai’s Japanese factory, but Boston retains “100% control” over the manufacturing process. The Boston pianos will be the “best pianos available at that price,” Dove says.
- Some of Steinway dealers will refuse to carry the Boston Piano line (for example, Sherman-Clay, the large chain of music stores in California).