Smart Money
May 2003
By Damian Fowler

Harmonious Convergence: Feeling musical? Here's how to buy a piano that will perform for decades.

"But remember, the final decision about which piano to buy is based on sensuous, tactile response, not just on your bank balance... Erica vanderLinde Feidner, Steinway's top sales person, encourages even her shyest customers to sit down and play extensively before they commit, so that they get to know the instrument's individual character. One piano might be "spirited and sunny, but with dark qualities," she says, while another might have a "jazz rasp, like a saxophone." Either way, "it's important for people to realize that they can hear the difference."