Estonia Piano Factory ( et, Estonia Klaverivabrik) was founded in 1950 by in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. The majority of Estonia pianos are now sold in

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

History

Ernst Hiis formed his own company, E. A. Ihse, in 1893.History
/ref> In 1915, he sold his business and worked for other companies. In 1923, he became the leading expert and manager of the Astron piano company. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the subsequent occupation of Estonia by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

stopped production of pianos in Estonia. The factories were destroyed. Only Ernst Hiis continued his grand piano production. In 1950, by the order of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, based on The Peoples' Furniture Factory, the Tallinn Piano Factory was established, and the new piano was called Estonia. In April 1951, the first Estonia piano was presented to the State Board. From 1950 to 1990 the company was state-owned and made two grand piano models ( and ) for distribution throughout the Soviet Union. The company languished after the

fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

and the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991, and in 1993 the factory was privatized to its managers. After the factory's decline in the early 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the firm was revived by Indrek Laul, who invested in the company and introduced its products to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1995, it was sold to (at that time a doctoral piano student at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

in New York), who took over control of the company. Components and materials are now imported where appropriate, such as German Renner actions and hammers. In 2003 a new factory building was completed and opened.

Characteristics

The Estonia pianos, manufactured during the existence of the Soviet Union, were surprisingly strong and could demonstrate excellent stability, fast mechanic and grand singing tone. Pianos from that period are very rare to find nowadays, almost being an extinct brand. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the new pianos in the early 1990s were plagued by manufacturing defects. Those made since about 2002 have demonstrated remarkable quality and a unique, sweet singing tone. Additional improvements made in the years 2003–05 have placed the Estonia grand pianos in the highest or second-highest tier of quality, based upon the ranking system of ''Pianobuyer'', a recognized reference in the piano industry. Concert pianist

Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...

, after choosing an Estonia piano for himself, commented, "The level of craftsmanship in the Estonia piano can only inspire the highest respect and I have no doubt that this piano will continue to prove essential to sensitive musicians."

Models

Estonia's pianos are performance quality acoustic grand pianos manufactured in the Republic of

. Five models are currently offered for sale: * Model 168: 168 cm (5'6") * Model 190: 190 cm (6'3") * Model 210: 210 cm (6'10") * Model 225: 225 cm (7'4") * Grand Model 274: 274 cm (9'0")

References

External links

*
Estonia's pianos increasingly symbolic of post-Soviet transformation.
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Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...

'', 19-08-2011. {{Coord, 59, 26, 53.27, N, 24, 43, 48.46, E, region:EE, display=title Piano manufacturing companies Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Estonia Economy of Tallinn 1950 establishments in Estonia Companies established in 1950 Estonian brands Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the Soviet Union