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The Estonia Piano Factory was founded in 1950 by Ernst Hiis in Tallinn, Estonia. The majority of Estonia pianos are now sold in the United States.

History

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Ernst Hiis formed his own company, E. A. Ihse, in 1903. In 1915, he sold his business and worked for other companies. In 1923, he became the leading expert and manager of the Astron piano company. The second world war stopped production of pianos in Estonia. The factories were destroyed. Only Ernst Hiis continued his grand piano production. In 1950, by the order of Joseph Stalin, based on The Peoples' Furniture Factory, the Tallinn Piano Factory was established, and the new piano was called Estonia.In April of 1951, the first Estonia piano was presented to the State Board. From 1950 to 1990 the company was state-owned and made two grand piano models (190 cm and 273 cm) for distribution throughout the Soviet Union.

The company languished after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and in 1993 the factory was privatized to its managers. After the factory's decline in the early 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the firm was revived by Indrek Laul, who invested in the company and introduced its products to the United States. In 1995 it was sold to Indrek Laul (at that time a doctoral piano student at the Juilliard School in New York), who took over control of the company.

Since that time the company has exerted efforts to redesign and bring Estonia grand pianos to a world-class, professional level. Components and materials are now imported where appropriate, such as German Renner actions and hammers. In 2003 a new factory building was completed and opened..

Characteristics

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Although the Estonia pianos manufactured in the early 1990s were plagued by manufacturing defects, those made since about 2002 have demonstrated remarkable quality and a unique, sweet singing tone. Additional improvements made in the years 2003-2005 have placed the Estonia grand pianos in the highest or second highest tier of quality, based upon the ranking system in Pianobuyer. Pianobuyer is a recognized reference in the piano industry.

Concert pianist Marc-André Hamelin , after choosing an Estonia piano for himself, commented, "The level of craftsmanship in the ESTONIA piano can only inspire the highest respect and I have no doubt that this piano will continue to prove essential to sensitive musicians."

Models

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Estonia pianos are performance quality acoustic grand pianos manufactured in the Republic of Estonia. Four models are currently (as of May 2010) offered for sale:

• the L168 Studio Grand (168 cm, 5'6"),
• the L190 Parlour Grand (190 cm, 6'3"),
• the L225 Semi-Concert Grand (225 cm, 7'4") and
• the L274 Concert Grand (274 cm, 9'0").

References

1. Madis Kokla and Anatoly Stulov
2. http://www.cunninghampiano.com/mfg/estonia%20piano/

External links

• Official website

59°26′53.27″N 24°43′48.46″E / 59.4481306°N 24.7301278°E / 59.4481306; 24.7301278

• Piano manufacturing companies
• Companies of Estonia
• Tallinn
• 1950s establishments in Estonia