Kawai
| Kawai Gakki Seisakusho
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Kabushiki-gaisha (joint stock company) |
| ISIN | JP3221400009 |
| founding | 1927 |
| Seat | Hamamatsu |
| management | Hirotaka Kawai (President and CEO ) |
| Number of employees | 2837 |
| Website | www.kawai.co.jp |
KK Kawai Gakki Seisakusho ( Japanese 株式会社 河 合 楽 器 製作 所 , Kabushiki-gaisha ~ , German " Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing ", English Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ) is a Japanese company with headquarters in Hamamatsu , the grand pianos , upright pianos , Digital pianos and a professional recording system specially developed for piano recordings.
history
The company's history goes back to 1927, when the company's founder Koichi Kawai built his first organs and pianos . The current head of the company, Hirotaka Kawai, is the grandson of the company founder and has taken over the management of the company from his father Shigeru Kawai.
Kawai has also been making electric musical instruments since the 1980s. Some of the first synthesizers carried the Teisco label . The synthesizer model K-5 achieved a certain fame because it was used by the film composer Jan Hammer for the soundtrack to the American TV series Miami Vice . In this instrument, the technique of additive synthesis was used to generate sound . Kawai also manufactured acoustic and electric guitars, drum computers (R-50 or R-50e, R-100) and home studio equipment such as active speakers, mini-mixers, equalizers and midi mixers (MM-16).
In the electronic sector, Kawai currently manufactures digital pianos and organs (organs not available in Germany). The company withdrew from the production of synthesizers and portable keyboards a few years ago. Kawai also manufactures sports equipment and is also active in metal and wood processing, for example parts of Toyota-Lexus vehicles are manufactured by Kawai.
Kawai has been building their Boston pianos and grand pianos for Steinway & Sons since around 1992 .
In 1998 the company was awarded the ISO 14001 certificate for environmental protection.
The European headquarters have been in Krefeld since 1990 .
Products
Today Kawai manufactures grand pianos, upright pianos and digital pianos as well as a professional recording device PR-1 specially developed for piano recordings. In addition to the GE, GM and RX wing series, the EX series is particularly well known. The largest type, the EX concert grand, is 276 cm long. A mute function, the Anytime system, is offered on some models . These instruments have the suffix ATX. The flagship of the Kawai wings is the Shigeru Kawai series named after the son of the company founder. These grand pianos are handcrafted in limited numbers each year and are only sold in a few licensed shops. After setting up and adjusting the instrument, a Shigeru buyer is then visited by a Japanese master technician, who adapts and intones the grand piano to the acoustic conditions at the location. This service is included in the purchase price of a Shigeru Kawai.
Kawai's best digital pianos are equipped with real wood keyboards and piano soundboards. According to Kawai, the closest possible proximity to an acoustic piano is achieved with his CA-97 digital piano. In the field of stage pianos , Kawai is represented with the models MP7 and MP11, which use Progressive Harmonic Imaging and Ultra Progressive Harmonic Imaging technology to reproduce the swinging of the piano strings, which is essential for recreating the sound of an acoustic piano is.
Due to their high quality and their nuanced sound, Kawai instruments are established worldwide in large music houses, concert halls, at international music festivals and competitions as well as at conservatories and music schools.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kawai: Company Outline. Retrieved October 6, 2018