Cavendish pianos amazed the piano world last year by bagging the coveted “best piano award” at the Music industry association awards.
Why did this cause amazement? Perhaps because the small British company saw off competition from the likes of Yamaha and a firm based in China which claims to be the largest piano factory ever. Small certainly is beautiful for the Yorkshire-based company which turns out around 50 pianos per year (Less than half an hour’s output from the largest piano factory in the world!)
But the emphasis here is on quality rather than quantity. 2015 sees Cavendish on the shortlist again with its Chatsworth model. This model epitomises is all that can be achieved in a small manufacturing process. “Small factories can produce products which no large factory ever could “says Adam Cox, managing director of Cavendish, “it would be simply impossible for a large factory to try using real, solid wood to manufacture their case parts. All the Chinese manufacturers use MDF to make their cases. We prefer the natural, resonant tones of real wood.”
The award ceremony takes place in November in London. The shortlist consists of Yamaha pianos and a Cavendish piano. Fingers crossed for Britain!