0_Wizard
When I was a kid my parents bought be a beautiful baby grand piano
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Piano
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Piano
The piano is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700 (the exact year is uncertain), in which the strings are struck by hammers. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. The word "piano" is a shortened form of "pianoforte", the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from "gravicembalo col piano e forte" and "fortepiano". The Italian musical terms "piano" and "forte" indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively, in this context referring to the variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the keys: the greater the velocity of a key press, the greater the force of the hammer hitting the strings, and the louder the sound of the note produced and the stronger the attack.
Ernst Kaps
The piano brand Kaps or Ernst Kaps Pianofortefabrik was founded and produced in Dresden Germany in 1858 by Ernst Karl Wilhelm Kaps. Ernst Kaps was born in Döbeln on December 6, 1826 and died in 1887 in Dresden (Saxony). Kaps was appointed in 1879 an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music His son Ernst Eugen born in 1864 died in early 1910 in Dresden under suspicious circumstances. A report suggested he may have taken his own life as a result of his company facing receivership. His second Son Wilhelm Karl born in 1872 and died in 1943 in Tolkewitz. However, the year book of wealth and income of the millionaires in the kingdom of Saxony of 1912 states that 2 of the family members, Wilhelm and Gertrud Kaps, each had 1.3M marks and an annual income of .11 M Marks.
Baby Grand
"Baby Grand" is the fourth and final single released off Billy Joel's album "The Bridge". A duet with Joel and Ray Charles, the song is a ballad dedicated to the baby grand piano, and the relationship it can share with its players. The two originally got together when Charles contacted Joel about the naming of his daughter, Alexa Ray, after Charles. Charles then suggested they create a song together. Joel originally sang the song in his thick New York accent, but decided to do a Charles impression instead when he noticed Charles was trying to imitate his style. The song was positively received by critics.
Steinway &amp; Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway, () is an American-German piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan, New York City, the United States, by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a factory in Queens, New York City, the United States, and a factory in Hamburg, Germany. The factory in Queens supplies the Americas and the factory in Hamburg supplies the rest of the world. Steinway has been described as a prominent piano company, known for making pianos of high quality and for inventions within the area of piano development.
Disklavier
Disklavier is the brand name for a family of high-tech reproducing pianos made by Yamaha Corporation. The first Disklavier was introduced in the United States in 1987. The typical Disklavier is a real acoustic piano outfitted with electronic sensors for recording and electromechanical solenoids for player piano-style playback. Sensors record the movements of the keys, hammers, and pedals during a performance, and the system saves the performance data as a Standard MIDI File (SMF). On playback, the solenoids move the keys and pedals and thus reproduce the original performance. Modern Disklaviers typically include an array of electronic features, such as a built-in tone generator for playing back MIDI accompaniment tracks, speakers, MIDI connectivity that supports communication with computing devices and external MIDI instruments, additional ports for audio and SMPTE I/O, and Internet connectivity.
Fazioli
Fazioli Pianoforti () is a high-end maker of hand-built pianos, based in Sacile, Italy. Fazioli produces about 100 pianos a year from its single factory. Paolo Fazioli was born in Rome in 1944, into a family of furniture makers. In 1969 he graduated from the University of Rome with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and in 1971 received a diploma in piano at the G. Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, under the instruction of Sergio Cafaro. In the same period he also earned a master's degree in Music Composition at the Academy of St Cecilia, where he was guided by the composer Boris Porena. In the meantime, his elder brothers took over the family business, manufacturing office furniture, including wood furniture using rare and exotic woods such as teak, mahogany and rosewood.
Second Hand White Baby Grand
"Second Hand White Baby Grand" is an original song introduced in the twelfth episode of the first season of the musical TV series "Smash", entitled "Publicity". The song was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but within the show's universe, it is written by songwriting team Julia Houston (Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) for their Marilyn Monroe musical "Bombshell". In "Publicity", the song is written after newly appointed Marilyn, Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman), requests some script changes. The song is performed by Marilyn Monroe's "shadow selves", the voices that she hears inside her head (which are given much larger roles so the movie star but bad singer Rebecca Duvall doesn't have to sing as many songs).