Shigeru Kawai pianos are one of the most highly respected, and secretive pianos in the world. Many people have heard of them, but few actually know what they are, or where they come from. Firstly, the piano is a descendent of the Kawai Corporation, a company that is known primarily for building reliable, mid-range, institutional and home pianos. But it is far from a fancied-up Kawai. The Shigeru project was a special division of Kawai which was created back in the 1970’s by then-president Shigeru Kawai. It wasn’t at that time labelled the “shigeru” project, but simply S. Kawai. The goal of the project was to design and build Japan’s first and foremost world-class concert grand piano. Each piano is hand-made.

A Shigeru piano is much more than the intelligent application of material, labor and design. It is an art form born not from the head, but from the heart. Thus, the craftsman does far more than simply “build” it—he brings it to life.

The sensitive nurturing of every part, every joint, every subtle nuance vests each piano with an intangible quality—a soul—that lives on from generation to generation. And those who own a Shigeru piano know that they possess not merely an instrument, but a partner in the musical pursuit of dreams.