Estonia L274 Concert Grand Piano

Product Overview

Estonia’s history traces back to 1893 when Steinway and Bluthner trained piano maker Ernst Hiis-Lhse began producing pianos. All Estonian piano companies were consolidated under Hiis’ leadership in the 1950s, at which time the Estonia brand was born. Revered for their quality, Estonia pianos dominated Eastern Europe with almost 7,500 concert grands produced to occupy concert stages (likely the most concert grands any European piano factory has ever produced). Quality waned over the next several decades due to communist rule, but after privatization in 1994 due to the fall of the Soviet Union, Estonia would remerge as a high-quality piano maker.

This is where it gets really interesting; Julliard graduate Indrek Laul acquired sole ownership of Estonia in 2001, at which time Estonia was known for good, mid-range pianos. Fast forward to the 2010s, and after a plethora of design and material improvements, Estonia is now considered to be among the finest handmade pianos made in the world today, period, and a near fanatic, cult-like devotion from a dedicated group of Estonia owners attests to this.

The 9 foot, Estonia L274 is the largest instrument in a lineup of 5 models produced at the Estonia piano factory in Tallinn, and serves as the flagship model from this increasingly popular manufacturer. A recent redesign includes an upgraded soundboard design, a stronger, focused beam structure with better rim connection, and refined hammer design.

Add these improvements to an instrument already featuring thick rims of rare Baltic birch, German clear-grade white spruce soundboard, and a Renner action with Renner Blue hammers, and you end up with an instrument capable of standing toe-to-toe with other top concert grands pianos, which can cost up to twice as much.

The L274 is a concert grand of truly striking value, and should absolutely be considered alongside other fine concert grand pianos renowned for high-level craftsmanship like the Hamburg Steinway Model D, C. Bechstein D 282, and Shigeru Kawai SK-EX.

Action

Every Estonia grand receives a first-class action made by Renner in Germany. Renner supplies the actions for many other high-end European piano makers, such as Fazioli, and is known for their fast, agile actions that are easy to control. This holds true here – even the most demanding of virtuosos will feel at home with this action.

The actions are regulated extensively at the factory level and play very nicely out of the box. The touch is on the heavier side, but if the preference is for a lighter touch, a capable piano technician will have no problem adjusting this.

German company Kluge supplies the keys.

Tone

The Estonia 274 is known for it’s exceptionally wide dynamic range, and tonal profile often described as warm and rich with overtones. Company owner Indrek Laul is a concert-level pianist himself with a Doctorate in piano performance from Julliard, and as such, clearly understands the needs of the performing pianist. His unique insight has been crucial in redesigning the Estonia models to achieve as musical a tone as possible.

All of this shines through with the L274 – this instrument boasts a tone fit for the world’s finest concert stages and private homes.

The strings are made with steel imported from Germany, and the bass wires are core wound by hand with pure copper at the Estonia factory. The bass bridge and treble bridge are vertically laminated and made from red beech with a solid maple cap for superb transmission of tone from the strings to the soundboard.

Hammers

In addition to the action, Renner also supplies the hammers for the Estonia L274 with their Renner Blue series hammers – the highest quality hammers Renner produces with the best wool. High attention to detail concert voicing by Estonia’s top technicians at the factory level ensures perfection right out of the crate.

Soundboard

Only specially selected, ‘clear grade’ (highest grade) solid spruce imported from Germany is used in the Estonia L274 and other Estonia piano models.

The soundboards on every model received a full redesign in recent years, resulting in a more vibrant, easier to activate soundboard for a more resonant tonal profile and greater sustain.

Rim/Cabinet

Estonia’s are unique in that they are one of the only piano manufacturers to source thick Baltic wood, specifically birch with multiple laminations for use in their rims. The unique wood selection plays a significant role in achieving the singular Estonia sound.

The pinblock also deserves special mention – laminated layers of red beech from Germany results in an incredibly robust pinblock facilitating excellent tuning stability. 17 radial grain ribs and a sand cast iron plate rounds out this superbly constructed structure.