Bosendorfer opens new Selection Center

19 May 2010. Dealers and customers of the Austrian piano company can now select their Bosendorfer grand and upright pianos in a concert hall-like setting. The newly completed Selection Center in Wiener Neustadt makes playing and selecting the famous instruments a special sonic experience and is an important investment in the company's future.

Vienna, Austria Concert grand pianos are generally used in large rooms. Special consideration was given to this fact in the acoustic planning of Bosendorfers new crown jewel. Diffusely scattering, tiered wall and ceiling elements eliminate live reflections and echoes, without removing the sound itself through absorption. The result is a 210-square-meter concert hall atmosphere. It allows the unique sonic signature of Bosendorfer pianos to unfold optimally. With todays opening of the new Selection Center in the presence of numerous representatives of politics, culture and business, Bosendorfer and its proprietor Yamaha reveal their trust in the special Viennese sound of Bosendorfer instruments and in the strengths they have in common. This investment, particularly during economically challenging times, is intended to lend impetus to the piano market and support trade partners in their sales work.

The new collaboration between Bosendorfer and Yamaha opens up new market opportunities for both brands. Bosendorfer is thereby able to access enormous marketing and PR resources. The companies' successful joint appearance at the major music trade shows in Anaheim in January (NAMM) and in Frankfurt in March (Bosendorfer was most recently represented there in 2003) has already caused a sensation within the industry. The integration of Bosendorfer grand and upright pianos into the global distribution network of Yamaha will reinforce the presence of Bosendorfer instruments in all regions of the world. Yamaha salespersons and technicians experience the special features of the Viennese sound and Bosendorfer instruments in special training programs. Already at the end of March, the relocation of management, parts of sales and distribution, as well as marketing from Viennas Fourth District to Wiener Neustadt could be completed according to plan. New, modern office space is available to employees. Integrating all business areas under a single roof assists communication and cooperation among the individual work areas as well as helping to create a common understanding for production processes and customer necessities.

Bosendorfer remains true to its Viennese roots

The companys 182-year history and the special sonic character of Bosendorfer instruments are inextricably linked to Vienna. In the future, Bosendorfer will continue to remain true to its Viennese history. Thus, the piano manufacturers exposure in Vienna's concert halls, as well as in the capitals music educational institutions, will continue. A fleet of loan instruments, serviced by experienced Bosendorfer concert technicians, will be available in the new Bosendorfer Service Center in Viennas Tenth District for this purpose.

The new Bosendorfer Hall in Viennas Mozart House

The Bosendorfer Hall tradition in Vienna will also be retained. At Domgasse 5, not far from St. Stephans Cathedral, in the only one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts Vienna apartments to be preserved to this day, Bosendorfer Hall will find its new home. I assure you that its a marvelous place here, Mozart said of his adopted city of Vienna. The Mozart House in Viennas First District (formerly known as the Figaro House), in which the musical genius lived from 1784 through 1787, will be the marvelous location for the continuation of the popular Bosendorfer concerts as of autumn 2010. A commensurate agreement was recently made with the Mozarthaus Vienna Errichtungs und Betriebsgesellschaft, a Wien Holding company. The details as well as the program will be introduced jointly before the summer.

Bosendorfer Downtown

More than ever, the heart of Bosendorfer in Vienna remains Bosendorfer Downtown, which has been operated in Viennas Musikverein since 1913. The companys corporate headquarters is located at this address sales for Austria and Switzerland operate here, and prospective customers, artists, professors, students and friends of the Bosendorfer company come here for discussions or private concerts.

The foundation has been newly laid. The company looks to the future.

The companys restructuring (including reorganization of sales and marketing), begun last year, could be completed. The goal of all measures, which were undertaken with the intensive involvement of the workers' council, was to strengthen sales and improve cost structure, as well as to adjust production capacities to the global market situation and realistic sales expectations. The joint, dynamic market appearance with Yamaha, the successfully completed restructuring and the retention of the products' high standard of quality are creating a stable basis for continuing to bring the touching sound of Bosendorfer pianos from Austria throughout the world in the future.