Schimmel K213 Glas Grand Piano

Glass has a magic all of its own. Its history dates back almost five thous-and years. Discovered in Mesopotamia, the cradle of all culture, glass in a seemingly infinite variety of forms has conquered the world. Whether crystal clear or in colours like the windows of cathedrals, whether intended for daily use, for jewelry or for decorating a table set for a banquet – down through the ages and throughout all cultural epochs, glass has occupied an important place in the life of mankind.

In its original form, comprised of minerals, it is brittle and fragile. Transparent acrylic plastic, an achievement of modern science, combines the optical characteristics of glass with a flexibility which renders it virtually impervious to damage by impact. Yet in whatever form we encounter it, glass has an enchantment all its own. A convincing proof of this is the Schimmel grand K 213 Glas with acrylic plastic cabinetry, created by Nikolaus W. Schimmel. A uniquely fascinating instrument.

Anyone who has ever experienced the Schimmel Grand K 213 Glas in a concert hall, with its shimmering golden trim, reflecting the stage lighting in a thousand multicolored facets, knows that this unusual instrument is a star among stars. The stately curves of its traditional grand-piano form make it a real eyecatcher.

Its crystal clear sound throughout its entire range, enhanced and rendered even more transparent by the acrylic cabinetry, is an inspiration to pianists and music lovers alike. Seen from a distance, the instrument sparkles like a precious jewel; seen from close up, its fine materials and workmanship and technical perfection become clearly evident.

Its keyboard and action assembly with its outstanding dynamic-modulation capability responds precisely to the finest nuances in touch. And in the midst of all this glasslike beauty, a heavy cast-iron plate supports the tons of tension exerted by the approximately 220 strings.
The unique Schimmel Trilogy

Some designers copy construction concepts from nature. We at Schimmel have in a manner of speaking copied ourselves. In the unique Schimmel Trilogy Concept, the well-established and ideal construction concepts for the large grand piano series have been consistently integrated into the smaller model series, where possible in identical construction. This enables pianists to enjoy the benefits of the outstanding touch and tonal characteristics of a large concert grand even when performing on smaller models. Two trilogy groups are available: Trilogy I (K 280 – K 256 – K 230) and Trilogy II (K 213 – K 189 – K 169) – an extended Schimmel product family.

The distinguishing characteristics: the large keyboard-action assembly of the longest grand piano is integrated into the smaller model series, therefore providing optimum leverage ratios which allow the pianist the best possible control over his or her performance. This means that pianists performing on a variety of Schimmel grand piano models can always enjoy the pleasures of playing on a large-scale grand piano and have no need to adapt their performance technique according to different models.

The dimensions of the soundboard are extraordinarily large in comparison to the length of the instrument: this is due to the extravagant form of our grand pianos in which ideal oscillation zones have space to develop in the soundboard.

These zones permit a greater tonal volume and a superior tonal distribution. Through the Triplex Scale the notes in parts of the middle and treble range are produced with the aid of three exactly coordinated areas of a single string, resulting in an increased richness in tone and a longer speaking length of these notes.

Schimmel soundboards are curved in three dimensions thus creating a dome shape known as a ³crown². In addition, the thickness of the soundboard tapers in such a way to promote ideal vibrational properties over a wide spectrum of frequencies and amplitudes. These features enable the production of the characteristic rich palette of tonal colours, extended length of tone and excellent tuning stability of Schimmel pianos.

The tension collector is a connecting element between the solid mountain spruce back frame construction and the stable cast-iron plate which distributes the tension of up to 21 tons in a controlled fashion throughout the instrument. This eliminates the danger of the soundboard being affected by uncontrolled forces which would unintentionally interfere with its vibration processes.