Baldwin Pianos

Baldwin Pianos designed and built the first grand piano

Baldwin Pianos began in 1862, when a music teacher, Dwight Hamilton Baldwin, opened the doors of his music store in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Baldwin decided that he wanted to produce the "best piano that could be built" in 1890 and introduced the world to the very first upright Baldwin pianos.

With the death of Dwight Baldwin in 1899, the company was headed by Lucien Wulsin, who worked beside Baldwin as a bookkeeper for 7 years before becoming a partner at in 1873. The very first American piano awarded with the Grand Prix Award was a Baldwin concert grand piano in 1900 at the International Exhibition in Paris. Baldwin pianos later earned more honors and become renowned world wide. By 1913, Baldwin pianos had become a major player in the world piano market, exporting to over 32 countries around the world.

Baldwin pianos business was interrupted in 1942 when the U.S. War Production Board ordered all piano building stopped due to the war effort. Baldwin pianos were not produced for the rest of the war and instead, because of its woodworking expertise, Baldwin manufactured wings, fuselage parts and center sections for the Aeronca PT-23 training plane and the Curtiss-Wright C-76 cargo plane, as well as parts for fighter, bomber and glider aircraft.

Lessons Baldwin pianos learned in the construction of multiple-ply aircraft wings became the basis for Baldwin's 41-ply maple piano pinblock, still in use today for its exceptional tuning stability and strength.(1) Baldwin pianos restarted piano building after the war and has not stopped production since that time.

In 1965, Baldwin Pianos introduced a revolutionary piano that became standard equipment of the Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati orchestras. The piano was the Baldwin SD10, and one journalist was even quoted as saying, "If Beethoven had had a piano like that, the course of music would have been radically altered."

Baldwin Pianos was later acquired by Gibson Guitar Corp., but is still manufacturing high quality pianos for concert and home usage. Many artists are known to love and play only on Baldwin pianos, recognizing the fine craftsmanship and innovation that is put into each and every piano. Baldwin pianos are great instruments that will provide a lifetime of great music.(2)

(1)http://www.baldwinpiano.com/about/history.html

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