|
|
Schimmel's most popular piano! What makes this piano the best-seller of all Schimmel models? Perhaps
because this instrument possesses the ideal combination of reliability,
playability, tonal quality and elegance. The model C 116 Tradition, the
younger brother of the C 120 Tradition, has made it to the top of the
list. This piano has been in Schimmel's range for over a decade, but its
popularity remains unbroken. On the contrary: pianists prefer to return
again and again to reliable models.
Convincing Clarity. Is it perhaps due to the simple, unembellished and clear lines of the
instrument? The piano C 120 International has been in Schimmel's program for
numerous years now – and continues to be a great favourite. This is a
timeless instrument which will loyally accompany pianists.
Harmony in Form & Performance. What happens when the principle of the “golden section” is transferred
to a piano? In art and architecture, the golden section is frequently
considered to be the ideal inter-proportion between various lengths and
also the epitome of aesthetics and harmony. Viewed from these aspects,
the C124T model certainly fulfills all these criteria.
*$24,995 Price negotiable
Majestic in tone and design. Taste is the art of an understanding for detail and also of presenting this detail in accomplished fashion. The exceptional personality of the model Royal is characterised by the model’s piano legs with its traditionally carved stylistic elements from solid wood. The majestic appearance of this upright piano transforms music-making into an experience for all senses!
Understated elegance. 'The eye listens too'. This is why the
combination of first-class sound and corresponding design is so vital.
The unostentatiously elegant C 130 Tradition is one of the great pianos
of its type and an instrument of excellence in itself. Touch and tone
are harmonised perfectly from the powerful bass notes up to the
sparkling treble register.
Modern, noble and timeless. The beauty of timeless design is that it retains
its charm down through the years and is still “en vogue” despite all
other modern trends. Designed under the aspect of “less is more”, the K
122 Modern Cubus is fashioned without any embellishments and this is
precisely the essence of its particular nobility.
Stringent selection for a first-class tone. Patience is the mother of quality. Sometimes, 300 years of patience are necessary. This is the age of some of Schimmel's mountain spruce wood which is utilised for the manufacture of the soundboards. This wood is cultivated in high mountainous areas under most difficult conditions, and only a minimal percentage of the wood produced – resonant wood – can be considered for the manufacture of Schimmel's soundboards. The very best quality is a vital factor as the soundboards are the heart of the instruments. Vibration properties and stability are of utmost importance for the beautiful tone of our upright and grand pianos. Only Schimmel's stringent selection process can guarantee the tonal richness, extremely long speaking length of the notes and excellent durability of Schimmel pianos.
Stringent selection for a first-class tone. It's the small, fine details that make this Art Nouveau instrument particularly charming. For example the hand-carved, black varnished maple wood Art Nouveau ornaments and the polished brass candle holders. Schimmel was able to repurchase the beautiful original instrument, which incidentally had been awarded a gold medal at a trade exhibition in 1913. Their new edition was modelled on this piano. The surface of the casing is worked and assembled by hand with contrasting walnut striped veneers. In addition to walnut veneer, the top door is also decorated with wood inlays incorporating ebony, Santos palisander and mother-of-pearl. This is not just an attractive piano, but also a fascinating piece of furniture!
Classic model. We are particularly proud of the instrument test result for the C 182 Tradition. Le Monde de la Musique, one of the leading French musical periodicals, produced a succinct and concise summary of the model’s characteristics: “Unmistakably developed for the demanding musician and … its excellent action which has evolved from the larger-scale brand models permits a veritable interlink with the tone. With this model C 182 Tradition, Schimmel has produced a grand piano which is capable of doing justice to the major works of the piano repertoire.”
The fascination of Art Nouveau grand pianos. Decorative curves, surfaces decorated with floral ornaments and abandonment of symmetry: These are the elements of Art Nouveau, also termed in German as Jugendstil, a new artistic style which transformed everyday articles into artistic objects. The intention was to incorporate art into everyday life. Here it was the decorative arts which came into their own. This approach is also appreciated by the piano craftsmen at Schimmel and prompted the development of this grand piano model.
The wonderful world of tonal colours. What sounds like a pedantic obsession with detail is the basis of the rich tonality of Schimmel pianos. All 88 hammer-heads of each upright and grand piano are pricked with voicing needles several ten thousand times by hand in a painstaking process to form the versatile tonal colouring of Schimmel's instruments. The voicer utilises his finely tuned manual dexterity to give the felt its elasticity and thereby provide each instrument with an optimum tone quality. This requires a rigorously highly-trained ear and great sensitivity for the finest tonal nuances. This is how the Schimmel craftsmen breathe life into the soul of Schimmel pianos!
Magical resplendence. For many people, thirteen is a mystical number. This number certainly provides Schimmel instruments with a magic gloss. This is because they utilise a traditional piano varnish which is applied in thirteen work phases with around one and a half kilogram per square metre and is primarily further processed by hand to produce a high gloss. This is how Schimmel produce the unique gloss and the special depth effect which are so characteristic of their upright and grand pianos.
Instruments with distinctive character. The Empire style (1804-1830), originating in Paris, took the world of the grand salons by storm and was closely linked to the personality cult surrounding Napoleon Bonaparte. Representation and decoration were the objectives of the style which was characterised by straight lines, austerity and solemnity, for example in furniture, art and fashion. Schimmel have recreated this style in their Empire grand pianos, but not in its most opulent form. The slender lines of marquetry and fine carvings emphasise the classic elegance of the Early Napoleonic era. This is an ornament for any room in which the grand piano can communicate the flair and atmosphere of a French salon.
The fount of good sound. Here we must first give our thanks to Bartolomeo Christofori who invented the hammer technique in 1700 which heralded the birth of the pianoforte. Ever since, piano makers have been searching for the perfect hammer-head for a consummate sound. At Schimmel, the characteristics of the hammer-head felts which have an influence on the composition of the tone are examined meticulously. The density and weight of the felt, its tension and simultaneous flexibility, the type of wool utilised and how this wool is processed, the correct way of cutting the felt and the way in which it is moulded: these aspects are all vital to ensure that their hammer-heads transfer the energy of the player’s touch to the resonating strings in an optimum manner. The felt manufacture is undertaken according to a traditional process which is more time-consuming than modern industrial felt manufacture, but is the sole method to ensure delivery of premium-quality felt for Schimmel's instruments.
Consummate tone. Pythagoras of Samos is said to have asserted that “Everything is related to numbers”. In ancient times, he experimented on a one-stringed instrument to discover the ratio between notes and numbers. This interrelationship is still relevant today for the constructors at Schimmel. For example, when they calculate and develop the cast-iron plates for specific instruments according to stability and acoustic criteria. Nowadays, Schimmel employ high-tech software for this purpose which is also utilised in the aircraft construction industry. The almost 1000 computer-controlled precision bore holes in the sounding body alone guarantee a fitting accuracy to a micron-exact degree in the acoustic element of the piano. This is precision work which makes a major contribution to the consummate sound of Schimmel's upright and grand pianos!
A class of its own. With a compact length of 2.56 metres, the K 256 Tradition is slightly shorter than the traditional 2.70 metre concert grand. The model is however 16 centimetres longer than the wide range of grand pianos available in the 2.40 size – this extra length means greater tonal volume and sonority. This is the perfect alternative model for medium-sized concert halls, churches and for institutional purposes. This model is certainly in a class of its own among the larger concert grands!
Glass has a magic all of its own. Its history dates back almost five thousand years. Discovered in Mesopotamia, the cradle of all culture, glass in a seemingly infinite variety of forms has conquered the world. Whether crystal clear or in colours like the windows of cathedrals, whether intended for daily use, for jewelry or for decorating a table set for a banquet – down through the ages and throughout all cultural epochs, glass has occupied an important place in the life of mankind.
In its original form, comprised of minerals, it is brittle and fragile. Transparent acrylic plastic, an achievement of modern science, combines the optical characteristics of glass with a flexibility which renders it virtually impervious to damage by impact. Yet in whatever form we encounter it, glass has an enchantment all its own. A convincing proof of this is the Schimmel grand K 213 Glas with acrylic plastic cabinetry, created by Nikolaus W. Schimmel. A uniquely fascinating instrument.
The grand piano for great moments. Accolades from competent sources are balm for the soul. In traditional instrument tests carried out by major music journals, Le Monde de la Musique in France writes the following on the grand piano K 280 Tradition: The “...entire action [is] particularly pleasant and well-balanced with the necessary dynamics for large-scale virtuoso movements...emphasises the abilities inherent in the instrument to bring across great moments in the Romantic repertoire: not over-saturated and here also a fine balance in tonal colour.”
|
240x158.jpg)
