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FRANK & CAMILLE'S FINE PIANOS OPENS MIDTOWN SHOWPLACE IN HISTORIC 57th STREET BUILDING NEW YORK (February 3, 2001)—Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos on 57th, the metropolitan area's premier location for enjoying, comparing, and shopping for the world's best pianos, celebrated its grand opening today at 29 West 57th Street in Manhattan. A showcase for Yamaha pianos located in an historic building in the heart of midtown, Frank & Camille's kicked off the celebration with the New York debut of the Yamaha Disklavier Mark III player piano.
The 3,000-sq.-ft. second-floor space, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking bustling 57th Street, is a natural showplace. The result is a comfortable and classic Manhattan location where the world's best pianos are on display. "Our goal is to provide our clients with a large selection of fine quality pianos," explains co-owner Camille Scheidemann. "We guarantee that when a piano is chosen at Frank & Camille's, it will be selected for its touch and tone, and be meticulously prepared by our technical staff." "Our piano store is so different, so unlike any other, that it appeals to the highly talented pianist or the discriminating piano novice who only wants the best," says Scheidemann. "It's a place where you will feel comfortable comparing traditionally handcrafted American pianos with the highly technically advanced Yamaha pianos, in a range of sizes to meet every need. No other store can offer this contrasting selection of home- and concert-quality pianos." Frank & Camille's success derives not only from its exceptional products, but also from an award-winning staff, in-house music education programs, and world-class piano technicians. The staff at 57th Street includes, among others, highly sought-after Russian piano technician Alex Appel, who meticulously prepares pianos on the sales floor. Piano technician and tuner Tom Sheehan, an expert on the Yamaha Disklavier with 20 years experience working on Grammy®-winning recordings at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, visits customers' homes after the sale to provide concert-quality finishing to the voicing and action response of the pianos. The store manager is Diane Villaflor, a former professional pianist with a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, who uses her technical expertise to help guide customers in selecting the perfect instrument for their needs.
Because of the growing popularity of player pianos, including the Yamaha Disklavier Mark III, which users can enjoy even if they don't know how to play, Frank & Camille's has created a special area in the new store dedicated to these player pianos. The Disklavier Mark III is a computerized digital/acoustic piano that combines the artistry of a fine acoustic piano with the technological achievement of recreating live performances from its built-in CD drive. Built-in speakers allow listeners to enjoy vocals and instrumentals along with a "live" piano performance for incredible realism and the ultimate in listening enjoyment. More than 25 years after opening the first Frank & Camille's Keyboard Center in Commack, L.I., Scheidemann and partner Frank Sicari have built the largest piano retail business in the northeast. Now headquartered in Melville, L.I., the company offers fine acoustic and electronic instruments at each of its nine metropolitan area locations. When recent technological advances and increased public awareness of the benefits of music-making spurred a resurgence in the piano market, Scheidemann and Sicari resolved to create the ultimate piano shopping experience, and began their search for a midtown-Manhattan location. Destiny seems to have played a role in selecting a spot for New York's newest fine piano showroom. The building at 29 West 57th Street was constructed in 1929 for the Chickering Piano Company—America's first piano manufacturer, then a century old. It housed offices, sales space and even piano manufacturing shops when the whole neighborhood was known as "Piano Row." To this day, the building's crown displays a replica of a Medal of Honor presented to Chickering by the French Government. The site's history also offers practical benefits: few buildings feature elevators equipped to handle the size and weight of a grand piano, for example, but that's not the case here. For more information on Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos on 57th, or for more information on Yamaha pianos, contact Vera Diament at Giles Communications, (914) 422-3800 x114.
© 2001 Yamaha
Corporation of America |
