American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters conducts the comparative testing of several makes of grand pianos, to determine what makes the sound of Steinway & Sons grand piano special. Baldwin, Bösendorfer, Steinway and Yamaha pianos are tested. The pianist involved in testing, Mordecai Shehori, prefers Yamaha grand. From his point of view, Steinway & Sons’ piano performance has been spoiled by malfunctioning dampers. The results of acoustic tests, however, show that Steinway & Sons piano has a brighter and longer sound than all the other instruments.