Okay, so I’m having some fun with the title of Perri Knize’s Grand Obsession, but since her novel stars (spoiler alert!) a Grotrian grand piano and this blog stars a Grotrian upright piano, I didn’t think anyone would mind. Among the many fine pianos we represent, Grotrian are among the most exclusive, and it takes just the right customer to dig past the usual names to uncover this crafted masterpiece.
To know our market is to recognize that spacious homes usually accompany the purchase of our top brands. Here in the South, our homes and rooms tend to be bigger than other markets, so when someone crosses into the price range of grand pianos, they rarely look back at top-of-the-line upright pianos. As long as we have represented Grotrian, I only remember one serious inquiry into their upright pianos, though we always find a few grand customers that are perfectly matched with a Grotrian. I was certainly surprised this fall when a customer visited our store unannounced looking for Grotrian, and specifically their uprights.
We met after he had traveled a bit, visited with other dealers and comparing other pianos and at first, our progress was slow. I could tell he had become overwhelmed when his desire to bring truly fine music into his home had become, well, less than fun. My second challenge was that I did not have a Grotrian upright for him to try. After breaking the ice, we spent hours delving into learning his preferences, comparing the design philosophy of different makers and clearing a path to match his expectations. When we parted, I could tell we had made progress and what he learned of Grotrian exceeded his expectations. Over the next week, we finalized plans to bring him a Grotrian Concertina upright.
While checking with the factory, there was one Concertina in production nearing completion. The piano would then be crated and flown to the airport where we would pick it up. This process, normally quite smooth, was held up because of new enforcement of an old regulation called the Lacey Act. I became an instant expert while naming the wood species and quantity of all the different woods used in the construction of the piano. I had never been asked down to the species. Still, the piano was well protected during the efforts of Customs to comply more than we’d ever complied before!
The piano was gently uncrated and given final preparation before delivery. The piano was outstanding, delivering on each careful promise.
The piano was safely delivered to an excited family where I’m sure it will be cherished for generations.
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