These days it seems like every piano manufacturer boasts "Since (insert ancient year here)." Unlike most brands you'll see today claiming to have been around "Since 18xx" the Bohemia piano factory is indeed still housed in the same edifice where they have been handmaking pianos for over 100 years. The Bohemia piano, along with Estonia pianos, has threatened the status quo of player piano manufacturers by offering unique, high quality pianos that possess character, style and musical qualities all at prices similar to lesser-rated, mass produced pianos. Such qualities have been desperately sought by buyers in North America -- especially those interested in resale value, appreciate handcrafted European products and/or those who are looking for, well, something a little better.

The Bohemia piano factory began making pianos in 1871. After WWII, commerce in Czechoslovakia becomed nationalized, much like that of the rest of socialist eastern Europe. The Czechoslovakian government at that time used the name Petrof for all the Czechoslovakian piano factories (seven-ish in all) since Petrof was the
largest and most recognizable piano name at that time. In fact, the serial numbers of all Czech Republic pianos employ Petrof's serial numbering.

In 1989 however, the new government began gradually giving back companies to former owners or creating management buyouts in the interest of privatization. In other cases, companies were simply sold to outside investors. Much like the story of the Estonia Piano Company, in the case of what was about to become the Bohemia Piano Company, there was a management buyout where the employees became the owners.

For those who aren't geography or history buffs, Czechoslovakia became the Czech Republic in 1993 when Slovakia became separate from Czechoslovakia. The capital of the new "Czech Republic" was now Prague. Bohemia represents the northern region of the Czech Republic, while Moravia is the lower region.

In 1993, Bohemia began producing pianos for distribution in Europe but didn't begin exporting them to the United States until 1995, and even then it was in very small numbers. At that time and for a few years that followed, everything was rapidly evolving in this part of the world to the point where each piano had a tendency to be just a liiiit-tle bit better than the one before it. Eventually, all that settled down into what is now considered to be a wonderful, world-class piano line.

The original piano factory in Jihlava continues to handcraft the entire Bohemia vertical piano line -- only 700 pianos annually. In 2000, Bohemia built a brand new grand piano factory from the ground up in the city of Hradec Kralove. It is responsible for Bohemia's annual grand piano production of 180 pianos. That's right...only 180. By comparison, Kawai builds that in a shift. Either Bohemia pianos are extremely handmade or the company is preparing themselves to be featured on an upcoming A&E episode of "Great Automation Blunders."

With a total production of less than 1000 pianos and considering that Bohemia distributes throughout Europe and Asia, there aren't a lot of Bohemia pianos available to audition in the U.S.! But don't let the paltry production fool you. It's all by design. 880 is the annual CAPACITY -- not representative of the present demand in the event that more could be produced. To that end, you won't be seeing any "Hurry now...50%-70% Bohemia pianos" sale ads any time soon. We'll leave that for the manufacturers sitting on warehouses full of pianos at which point you'll need to decide, "What's the better value...getting 50% off of a meritless MSRP or getting a smaller discount off of a better piano?" If you need help with this, please ask a piano technician or teacher!

If you are familiar with Larry Fine's Piano Book, you may notice that his most recent edition (published in 2001) doesn't have the Bohemia piano listed in the rankings. That is because in 2001, there were pretty much no Bohemia pianos in the U.S. for him to review. However, in all fairness to piano buyers who wish to know where it would rank, chicagopianos.com owner John Cordogan spoke with him in 2005 about where the new Bohemia pianos would fall in the ratings, and Mr. Fine indicated that it is a "Group 2" (or "high performance") piano. This category is dominated by small, cherished European brands that are relatively unknown to the average U.S. buyer. This elevated status also places it above the standard Kawai, Boston pianos and (given the emerging quality descent in this paragraph) all Korean pianos (Young Chang, Pramberger, Samick).

Most Bohemia models are available with a German Renner action, although many clients seem to actually prefer the Czech action in some models and forego the additional expense of a Renner action. The model 156 (5'3") and the 185 (6'1") were the first models to be made at the new factory and are highly regarded models. The other models -- the 150 (4'11"), the 170 (5'8"), the 225 (7'4") and the 275 (8'11") have all since been added to the same critical acclaim. We are confident in saying that the model 150 is the finest piano under 5' made anywhere in the world today. If you have tight quarters for your baby grand piano and you a discerning player or you simply want the best, you owe it to yourself to try the Bohemia 150! The entire piano line is incredibly lyrical and musical -- something that lower-rated pianos and mass-produced pianos have great difficulty achieving.

Bohemia's vertical piano line ranges from small consoles to 53" professional uprights and employs identical quality / musicality across the entire product line. Extraordinary veneers and tasteful accents separate Bohemia from the rest of the piano industry, where questionable designs have been a tragic and pervasive trend. For much information and availability, please call John Cordogan at 773.383.1734. All Bohemia pianos have a 10 year parts & labor factory warranty.