Once a month, PianoWorks will be choosing a piano from the showroom floor or from our very own restoration shop in the basement. We will be sharing information and photos of the piano, as well as answer any questions you may have about the piano.

Hailun Pianos are known among the finest sounding, best engineered and best crafted instruments from the east. Hailun Chen lead the company in China for over 20 years and only accepts the best from his company. PianoWorks carries Hailun Pianos and we’re currently featuring the 218 and the R178B.

The Hailun 218 is a lot of piano for the price. The semi concert grand sells for the mid $20,000′s, while a comparable piano in different brand would sell for thousands more. Recently, PianoWorks sold a Hailun 198 to the Atlanta International School for its value.

This piano, designed by Stephen Paulello, who is a university professor of piano and chamber music. Paulello also completed his education as a piano technician with Bechstein and Steinway & Sons and was in charge of concert service for Bechstein in Paris, then spend time in Germany working on this piano building skills.

The 178B has an uncommon style with the Bird’s Eye Maple accents. It has a great sound and a European Design.

If you would like more information on Hailun Pianos or any other pianos, check out our website.

Once a month, we will be discussing the Products and Brands that PianoWorks currently carries. We will highlight the pianos we have in the showroom along with a little company information.

Quality will prevail.

This is the slogan Mr. Whilhelm Schimmel built his entire piano business. That little piano business, started in 1885 in Leipzig, Germany, is now four generations strong, and the Schimmel family is building some of the world’s finest pianos.

The second generation in the Schimmel family was Wilhelm Arno who took over management in 1927. He relocated the company to Braunschweig, where Schimmel is now located. Later, Nikolaus Wilhelm took over management and really focused on expanding the Schimmel brand. Over 20 years, Nikolaus developed the Konzert Series, which was the key to their current position in the piano market. In 2003, Hannes Schimmel-Vogel took over management and developed the Konzert Series even more with the Vogel.

The Schimmel Sons aren’t the only generations in the company. Many of the factory workers are sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters of factory workers from the early Schimmel years. These workers have been known as fine craftsmen and the “masters of good tone.” Some of these workers are the artists that create the instrumental timbre, that is formed by extensive needling, which is needed several hundred times per hammer. This requires a well-trained ear, and cannot be replaced by machine. In addition, over 10,00 metal, wood and felt elements make up a Schimmel keyboard and action. All elements of each instrument must all be meticulously synchronized with exact precision: from the fitting of the strings, the positioning of the hammer-heads and the regulation of the action to the fine art of tuning and voicing.

In 2010 Schimmel Pianos celebrated their 125th anniversary. Schimmel pianos are well-known for being the largest company in Europe, as well as winning several awards across the country. A few weeks ago, PianoWorks had a visit from Glenn Clutter, Director of Sales and Promotions of Schimmel Pianos.

Recently, PianoWorks had a visit from Glenn Clutter, Director of Sales and Promotions for Schimmel Pianos. His favorite part about working for Schimmel is the people he works with every day.

“My favorite part about working for Schimmel is the people who purchase the pianos and the people who sell the pianos,” said Clutter. “It’s a very loyal business, and they’re proud to sell and proud to own a Schimmel.”

On their newest pianos, Schimmel stamps the brand name and factory location on every piano. Clutter says this is a something Schimmel is proud to do.

“Our pianos are really made in Germany,” said Clutter. “We’re so proud of that we display the city, country and our name on every piano.”

PianoWorks is the Authorized Schimmel Piano dealer for Georgia. For more information on our Schimmel pianos, click here or here.

Saturday, April 16, at 7:00 pm, PianoWorks will be hosting Whisperings Radio Artists David Nevue, Jeff Smith and Joe Bongiorno in concert.

Tickets will be $20 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets are available at PianoWorks, online or by calling the 24/7 Brown Paper Tickets Hotline at 800.838.3006.

Joe Bongiorno

I quit my classical piano training at age eleven, seeking a more glamorous life as a professional athlete. I still hear my father’s words ringing clearly in my head “someday you’ll thank me” referring to the childhood piano training I so gladly abandoned. An eighth grade football knee injury eventually proved detrimental to my childhood dream. Oh well!

High school brought new experiences, forming the band LIXX with a couple buddies with rock star ambitions. I grew my hair, sported parachute pants, bought a synthesizer with my neighborhood lawn mowing cash, & jammed to 80′s tunes on LPs. Spending Friday nights at band practice and Saturdays gigging parties & dances, memories were definitely made!

Graduating high school in ’87 brought an element of retreat from the Chicago “big city” life… venturing out west with my mother & siblings to San Juan Island, Washington. Culture shock took hold, while nature and quiet times prevailed. My composing was born, as was my beautiful daughter Taylor. I endeavored to start my own recording studio & bought all the toys. Mellow Sounds Studio opened on San Juan Island in ’93, a popular haven for the island’s many singer-songwriters and folk music artists. My buddy & talented guitarist/songwriter Tom Henry taught me how to listen and mix and the islanders now had a place to record.

My first release was “Ancient Sky” in ’94, an eclectic electronic blend of New Age piano, Native American influences (always a fav!) and even cutting edge rock instrumentals (starring Tom)… I was still wandering a bit musically, obviously! Engineering & producing other artists was relatively short lived, but a priceless experience. Realizing that a musical career would be forever limited on the island, I moved to Seattle in ’97.

At age 28, a trip back to Chicago to visit Dad lead me to meet my second cousin Joann Bongiorno, a classical piano virtuoso whom I had only heard stories about. I sat down at her Baldwin baby grand & something special happened. No, I didn’t perform magically for her (acoustic piano was a bit foreign to me at that time), but I was enamored by the power, simplicity, and enchanting sound of the instrument as a solo. From that day forward, my synthesizers began to acquire dust as I played my new Yamaha U1 upright acoustic piano. A few months later I focused in on an album project, rented a grand, crammed it into my basement and spent three weeks diligently practicing & recording. “At Peace” ~ solo piano was released in February 2001. The support for this CD was and still is surprising, if not stunning. I give great thanks to all who gave to it!

Life got busier, busier and busier. Taylor blossoming into a young lady, my career developing rapidly… life just seemed to get a bit more complicated each day. Retreats to the piano were much harder to come by. Compositions came together, but sometimes over periods of months. My ability to visualize and memorize carried me through these times, musically. I managed to abstain from reading or writing music with my sole intent being to improvise and create.

In 2002 I bought a baby grand, a Mahogany Kawai KG-2D. My 17 years in the restaurant business had brought me a handsome salary with a great company. The more I played & composed, I longed more & more for a new CD to hand to my family, friends, & handful of fans. My good friend and fellow pianist Joe Yamada put his home and glorious Kawai RX-7 concert grand at my disposal and I dove in head first. My second release “Destined“~ solo piano was released in April ‘04. It continues to receive heavy airplay at www.solopianoradio.com with “Just for You”, “Chasing the Wind” & “To Be Held” all hitting #1 on the listener charts! The success of this CD brought new & wonderful opportunities, including numerous concert performances for Solo Piano Radio as well as putting me in “high demand” status as a Seattle wedding pianist.

In May, 2006 I bought my dream piano, my very own Kawai RX-7 concert grand, fulfilling my dream of recording and producing my music from home. A whole new set of music channeled through my fingertips and evolved into my third CD release, “Somewhere Within” – solo piano in August ’07. It quickly became an iTunes Top 100 New Age album & was nominated for Best Solo Piano CD of 2007 by Whisperings Solo Piano Radio & received a “Reviewer’s Pick” from Kathy Parsons of Mainly Piano. It too continues to receive radio airplay world-wide.

Later that year I made my “personal” studio available to all, opening Piano Haven Recording Studio in suburban Seattle. An opportunity to share my good fortune with other composers… and record they have! David Nevue, Louis Landon, Christine Brown, Greg Maroney & Steven Cravis, just to name a few…

On June 25th 2010, I “retired” from my 25 years in the restaurant biz to focus completely on my music. Some say I’m crazy, some say I’m their hero. All I can tell you is that I feel great & the music is flowing like never before.

“A Candlelight Christmas” is my most recent endeavor & was awarded Christmas & Holiday album of the Year (2010) at SoloPiano.com… what an honor! This was a much more difficult project than I expected. Taking tunes that “aren’t mine” & “making them mine” is something I’m not used to doing. It took alot more time and effort than I had planned, but I am extremely proud of it : )

Currently, I’m working on another original CD release for Spring of 2011. I am currently hosting regular Whisperings concerts at my Piano Haven Studio & broadcasting them on the internet right here at my site. I am  also performing in-home concerts around the country. Is your home available? details on that right HERE.

Saturday, April 16, at 7:00 pm, PianoWorks will be hosting Whisperings Radio Artists David Nevue, Jeff Smith and Joe Bongiorno in concert.

Tickets will be $20 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets are available at PianoWorks, online or by calling the 24/7 Brown Paper Tickets Hotline at 800.838.3006.

Jeff Smith