J. Becker grand piano St Petersburg

ljw117 · Post by **ljw117** » 01 Dec 2005, 05:46

I currently live in Baku, Azerbaijan ( part of former Southern Russia ) There are very limited choices for new pianos here but there are several used pianos. To date, my best choice is a 1920 J. Becker( of St. Petersburg ) baby grand piano - completely rebuilt and reconditionned by the top tuner and "master" used by the Azerbaijan Music Academy. Also, this piano has an inscription in the soundboard that it was specially made for some royalty.

It plays beautifully.

I know nothing about J. Becker pianos except it was the piano Tchaikovsky used in St. Petersburg. In the internet, I saw one reviewer who rated the Becker piano poorly. Is it possible that since J. Becker started in 1881 and closed only sometime in 2003 that the earlier pianos were of better quality than the later ones?

Does anyone have any information about this. Is this something worth considering or should I look for some other options?

Post by **Bill Kibby** » 01 Dec 2005, 12:47

People on the internet are very fond of voicing opinions as if they were facts. Even if I had seen a thousand Becker pianos, I would not be able to tell you what this one is like. Every piano is different to every other piano, and even if you compare several brand new ones of the same model, they will be different. Some people fall in love with what (to me) are the most terrible instruments, and others regard a really good instrument as rubbish, it's all a matter of personal taste and opinion. If you are buying the piano, you have to like it! As for the royal thing, thousands of pianos mention that the maker has supplied instruments to royalty, but what does it actually say?

ljw117 · Post by **ljw117** » 01 Dec 2005, 13:15

thanks for the comments, unfortunately I did not write the translation of the inscription on the soundboard. The owner is out for 2 weeks so he has asked me to come back to see the piano when he returns. ill take note of it then and post it. thanks Bill!