---------- > From: jwod@creighton.edu > To: pianoman@inlink.com > Subject: Yamaha > Date: Wednesday, September 24, 1997 7:50 AM > > > Hi, Yes, now you have my curiosity going. please tell me about his first > piano. Did they ever build a reproducing grand? > > > Sincerely > > Stanley Gross > Omaha, NE jwod@creighton.edu Dear Stan, No reproducing pianos that I know of till recently. The story goes that Yamaha had a very successful reed organ business (over 2,000 a year) until the early in the 1900 when Yamaha met a fellow named K. Kawai who had successfully built a wooden bicycle that held up well. At this time also Yamaha had visited America visiting the Mason & Hamlin and Chickering factories. He figured that anyone who could design with that much stability could design other things as well also. He hired this fellow named Kawai to design his (Yamaha's' first piano). I read somewhere that the first piano was turned out in 1902 although the first year in the atlas is 1917. The first year he built 2. In 1904 he sent over an instrument for the St. Louis Worlds Fair where he received an honorary prize. Before 1914 he was building 10,000 reed organ a year and began producing the Butterfly brand of harmonicas. He got a boost in sale for these because of Hohner harmonicas were made in Germany. Unfortunately Torakuso died in 1916 and maybe Kawai did not get along with whoever took over controls. The reed organ business continued independently with pianos until 1927 when Kawai left Yamaha to start his own company building, guess what, pianos and reed organs). Yamaha went through several other design changes as they lured German engineers (Bechstein) with huge amounts of money to redesign them again in 1930. WW11 pretty well destroyed everything but caused all new factories and machinery to be built which was probably an advantage. In 1947 the first pianos, harmonicas, and reed organs started going again as well as the first motorcycles in 1955. Success continues. > James Grebe RPT from St. Louis pianoman@inlink.com
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