Pianos from far off places

[larudee@pacbell.net]

There were three piano makers in Cuba before the revolution.  One was Excelsior
and I don't know the names of the other two.  The one I saw was a grand with a
Schwander type grand action.  The maker name was cast into the plate, but the
plate was probably made in the U.S.  Some Cuban pianos used a local evergreen
for the soundboard.  I am told that it was too stiff and the sound quality was
not that good, but it had the virtue of being highly resistant to the local
termites, which devour most pianos.  That's about the extent of my knowledge
about pianos of Cuban manufacture/assembly.

Paul S. Larudee