Coach House Pianos (CHP), a well-established family-run piano business based near Swansea in Wales, opened its glamorous London showroom on the New Kings Road the day before the UK went into the second Covid lockdown in November 2020. Not the most auspicious start to its new London retail venture, one might think, yet the lockdown proved beneficial to CHP: with so many people confined to their homes, many turned to music, and the piano in particular, to pass the time.
It’s a mark of CHP’s success and business savvy that they now have a London outlet – and one that is not hugger-mugger to the other major piano retailers. The showroom is in the Talisman Building, a striking white Art Deco building just a few minutes walk from Fulham Broadway and Parsons Green tube stations. The spacious, elegantly-decorated ground floor space is heaven for pianists and piano lovers, with a splendid range of some of the finest marques and instruments, and helpful, friendly staff.
I got to know CHP through my friend and (occasional) duo partner, Lee. Like me, a keen advanced amateur pianist, I visited CHP’s Welsh showroom just over 5 years ago to help Lee choose a new grand piano. We were in London a week ago to select another piano for him, an upgrade since he now has the space for a larger instrument. He had set his heart on a Shigeru Kawai, but on arrival at CHP’s London showroom, we were invited to play any, and indeed all (if we so desired!) of the pianos on display there.
CHP keeps Steinway, Bosendorfer, Sauter and Yamaha brands at its London showroom. Although most of the pianos on display are grands, of various sizes and prices, there are also uprights and even digital instruments, so the piano hunter has plenty of choice, and ample opportunity to compare instruments too.
Buying a piano, and especially a grand piano, is a significant undertaking – and not just in terms of financial outlay. Even though modern pianos are made to standard specifications, there are inevitably – because these are instruments made of natural products like wood – differences within a particular maker and model. Lee and I really understood this when we went to the Yamaha selection centre in Milton Keynes in 2018 to try 6 C3X grands – each one was different, in terms of both tone and touch). So the opportunity to try different pianos, and a range of repertoire, is very important.
In addition to the freedom to play so many fine instruments, CHP’s staff are friendly and knowedgeable – and there is absolutely no hard sell. They appreciate that buying a piano is a significant purchase for many people and they are keen for their customers to find absolutely the right piano.
Although it felt as if we had been let loose in a piano sweet shop, there was serious business too and it was important for Lee to make the right decision with regard to his new piano. So we played solos to one another, and our “party piece”, Schubert’s D940 Fantasie, and listened to one another playing various instruments from different parts of the showroom. We compared notes (no pun intended) over lunch and then Lee went back inside the showroom, a decision made.
In all my encounters with CHP, I have been impressed by the level of customer service and knowledge of the staff. Add to this, a beautiful London showroom (which has space for recitals and other events), and now pianophiles and piano hunters need not travel so far to seek the perfect instrument.
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The Cross-Eyed Pianist 