PIANO TRADE

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 424, 4 May 1937, Page 5

PIANO TRADE

REVIVAL OF INTEREST Large Shipment Landed The extent to which interest in the piano has revived recently can be gauged from the size of a shipment that was landed from the Akaroa at Auckland, says the New Zealand Herald. Thirty-three British instruments were brought ashore, and the liner, has a similar number for Wellington. All the pianos are for one firm, the total of 66 constituting tho largest single shipment for an individual company in many years. With the rapid growth in popularity of the radio a few years ago the piano lost greatly in public favour. This position was accentuated by the depression, when importations of pianos almost stopped and sales were very nearly at a standstill. Compared with a total importation of 1850 pianos in 1929 and the present single shipment of 66, the total number of instruments brought into the Dominion in 1932 was 34. The situation was even worse the next year, when only 14 were imported. As 'the effects of the depress.ion have diminished, the demand for pianos has again grown, until last year 604 were imported. The radio is developing an urge for musical self-expres-sion which is. being reflected in greater sales of pianos and pit no accordions, and, incidentally, band instruments. Further evidence of a greater interest in pianos is provided by music teachers, who have many more pupils, than a few years ago. In some eJases, no further pupils can be taken. Another notable fact is that a Dominion. [wide firm of music dealers did great. ler business in the int' ruinents in : March than in any other month in the past 10 yelars. Regular shipments are now arriving from England and other sources Prices are substantially below those ranging in the peak year of 1925, although there is a marked upward tendency owing to the fi.xct that copper, steel and ft 1 s used in 'the manu* fac 1 ure of pianos are in demand overseas for the making of war material Faith in the future of tho piano market is being shown by the firm ini. >orting the present record shipment. At consideralble cost an exhibition of i.bout 40 pianos, the product of 12 English manufacturers, is to be open'd in Auckland this week. It is l»e--ieved that lh£ will be the first exhibition exclusively of pianos ever h' hl in New Zealand.