Monthly Archives: September 2013

Yamaha U1 Upright Piano

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Yamaha have been a household name for generations. However, many people are unaware that the company’s musical instrument history dates back to the 1800’s. Contrary to popular belief Yamaha did not suddenly appear on the music scene in the 1970’s and 80’s. The founder of the company Torakusu Yamaha built his first reed organ in Japan in 1887. His interest in building innovative devices continued and facilitated the official development of the Yamaha brand in 1897. From this date the company expanded and prospered with their development of a vast range of products including sports equipment, motorcycles, musical instruments and audio products.

yamaha_u1Yamaha began their piano production in 1900. They launched several newly constructed designs of upright pianos. This quickly developed into a full range of styles and designs, including their first grand piano in 1902. The Yamaha U1 reflects this wonderful balance of historic and innovative design techniques together with the cutting edge modern technology that Yamaha are renowned for. This upright piano produces a clean traditional sound with a wonderful clarity. It is certainly one of the most sought after used pianos and it is easy to see why.

Yamaha pianos offer a great value and quality for any skill level of pianist. They are a leading choice which is recommended by industry professionals such as piano tuners and technicians, simply because the craftsmanship and expertise of Yamaha represents an uncompromising instrument which will create eloquent and reliable performance. Yamaha create their pianos in a state of the art manufacturing facility which has an experienced workforce with the skills, expertise, dedication and knowledge to create an amazing instrument.

Yamaha take pride in their in house technological facilities which allow the manufacture of almost every individual component for each piano. They utilize this facility to encourage advances in development to create a superior standard of quality control which sets the bar for the industry.

The U1 has solid spruce ribs and soundboard which are utilized for the best tone and quality amplification of sound.  The ribs continue to the very edge of the soundboard to reinforce the crown. This improves stability and ensures a high quality of tone for a great many years.

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The Yamaha engineers have also developed an innovative and unique aluminum alloy action rail which improves the action of the U1. This eliminates the fluctuations caused by the atmosphere in weather changes to produce long lasting and stable regulation of the action. Every key of the U1 has been individually measured and tested to produce a uniform down weight pressure. This creates an amazing balanced action which allows a lifetime of superior control and touch through the whole keyboard.

The keys are constructed from spruce for its light weight and strength. This costs more than alternative materials such as bass wood or sugar pine but it is ideally suited to the demands of key construction. It allows the keyboard to quickly respond and allow fast repetition in even the most intricate musical compositions. This will ensure that the keyboard can withstand even heavy use with years of fortissimo playing.

The Yamaha U1 is available in polished and satin ebony, polished and satin American walnut, polished white and polished mahogany. You can always inquire for the price of a new one on our website, or check our used pianos section for one.

Jordan Kitts and WIPF kick off 3rd Community Concert Series

nakitaOn Sunday, September 15, the Washington International Piano Festival (WIPF) and Jordan Kitt’s Music jointly kicked off the third season of the Community Concert Series in Rockville, MD. Chris Syllaba, president of Jordan Kitt’s Music, introduced Dr. Nikita Fitenko, co-founder of WIPF, who kicked off the concert with two Rachmaninoff Preludes. The recital hall at the Rockville Jordan Kitt’s store was packed to capacity with a very enthusiastic audience.
After his performance, Dr. Fitenko introduced 7 pianists, each of which are students at Catholic University of America’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music. They performed works by Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, Ravel and Prokofiev.
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Pictured from left to right:
 
Anna Nizhegorodtseva, DMA student; Christine An, freshman piano performance major; Shophia Pileggi, piano performance major; Chloe Canton Rice, DMA student; Dr. Nikita Fitenko, associate professor of piano (standing); Clare Schuberg, sophomore piano performance major; Janice Wood, DMA student and Music Theory Program teaching assistant; Grace Brungardt, freshman piano performance major.
All of these students have impressive biographies and histories of performance and competitions. Their performances were excellent and well received by an audience of appreciative listeners. The concert schedule can be viewed under the events section at www.jordankitts.com.