Steinway via the Beltway?

On her "Classical Beat" blog for The Washington Post, Anne Midgette notes the opening of Steinway "piano galleries" recently at Tyson’s Corner and early next year in Falls Church, following Steinway and Sons’ decision to end its longtime distribution arrangement in the Washington area with Jordan Kitt's Music. Jordan Kitt's has been the Steinway dealer in Richmond and Virginia Beach for years.

Does this mean that downstate Virginia purchasers of new Steinways now must endure Northern Virginia traffic?

No, says Paul King, regional vice president of Jordan Kitt's. The firm continues to sell Steinways in Richmond and Virginia Beach (and Chicago, Atlanta and elsewhere), and continues to provide Steinway-authorized service and to honor Steinway warranties.

Institutional buyers – orchestras, schools and colleges, churches – often go to Steinway Hall in New York to sample instruments before purchasing concert grands. No local dealer can offer as many instruments to try out and compare. "If someone told me they were going to spend $100,000 on a piano," says Charles Staples, the concert pianist and head of music ministry at Richmond's Trinity United Methodist Church, "I would say that's a good excuse for a trip to New York."

King notes, however, that Jordan Kitt's offers local customers a choice of several Steinway grands, shipping them in from other locations if necessary.

UPDATE: David Slan, president of the Steinway Piano Gallery, Tyson's Corner, writes: "When an institution wants to select a concert grand piano, they purchase it through their local Steinway dealership. The dealer then arranges a date at the Selection Room at the Steinway factory in Long Island City, New York. The local dealer travels with the institutional purchaser who selects from five Steinway Model D concert grand pianos (more if they are selecting a larger number of instruments). After the choice is made, the piano is boxed and delivered to the local Steinway dealership. The local dealer then preps and delivers the piano to the institutional purchaser – and handles future service needs."