Background
Although Perzina has a history that stretches back 140 years, it’s really within the last 10 years that Perzina has emerged as a trend-setting manufacturer of grand and upright pianos. With stunning designs, innovative materials and manufacturing techniques, and an unmatched value, Perzina now builds or collaborates on 3 of the industry’s most respected professional-level pianos, alongside the likes of Yamaha and Kawai.
Perzina began in the late 1800’s in Germany, and by the early 1920’s was the largest piano producer in Germany. As Perzina moved through the 20th century, it found itself in “East” Germany, and locked off from Western markets, and consequently went through a major contraction in size. Following the collapse of the USSR and the fall of the Berlin wall, Perzina, along with many other Eastern-bloc producers, saw great opportunity in the west, now being fueled by a boom in American domestic spending and a general renaissance in piano popularity and design innovation. However, with the ‘double’ collapse of the American economy first with the tech bubble and then the real estate crash, many European producers found themselves struggling to survive.
A Tale of Two Recessions
A significant waive of piano companies rushed to resell and rebrand cheaply-made Chinese pianos, hoping that their brand would allow them to increase the prices of these otherwise very basic instruments. Although some had some early success, generally the world market caught on, and most of these companies faded away. A much smaller number (3) of European producers took a very different approach. Though most in the piano industry were slow to acknowledge it, it was quickly becoming obvious that China would become the dominant consumer of pianos, not just the producer of them. And therefore, anyone interested in their own long term survival had to have a presence in the burgeoning nation. One major obstacle was China’s punative import duty, as high as 35% in some cases.
So, a new business model emerged. Perzina created a small, highly modern facility in China, where the final assembly of the pianos would take place, and avoid paying import taxes into the world’s largest mid-range piano market. At the same time, the cost of manufacturing was lowered but components remained truly European-made and sourced; this created more opportunity in the traditional Western markets of North America and Europe (A Perzina grand, when entirely from Germany, was well in excess of $30,000; they are now $20,000 and under). No company in the world has seen more success through this partnership between Europe and China than Perzina has, as evidenced by their partnership with 4 extremely well-known luxury piano brands (these partnerships are confidential, not surprisingly).
Recognition: The Best In Class
Perhaps the strongest evidence to-date that this new manufacturing model has not just been accepted, but embraced by the piano industry, is Larry Fine’s inclusion and categorization of these pianos as “European Affiliated”. Are they 100% European? No. Is this category just populated with glorified ‘Chinese pianos’? Absolutely not. It is truly a blend of both, and gives the typical piano customer affordable access to some of the most innovative designs, and highest quality woods in the industry, for about the price of typical Japanese pianos. It could be said that these truly constitute the very best chinese pianos.
Perzina has a much smaller production of 5000 or less annually, and is considered by many to be ‘the’ insiders choice. Their tone is incredibly clear, with a long sustain, strong treble, and a surprisingly deep bass (due to the stretched scale and floating soundboard configuration), and in numerous side-by-side comparisons, have demonstrated a tonal palet and maturity that leads it’s class. One of the most satisfying moments for us is seeing customers play these fantastic pianos next to vastly more expensive instruments without being able to perceive any great difference. By any measure, these pianos consistently deliver a musically enriching and high value experience for our customers.
