Young Chang was present and promoting their products at both 2016/17 NAMM but there is no further information that I can discover relating to more current details about the company. As far as I can ascertain, Delwin Fandrich is renowned as a very fine maker of pianos and is credited with bringing a very high level of engineering to the world of Young Chang pianos. (Remember these are a sub-category of the ‘Bergmann line’). Fandrich is from the information on ‘ Pianos Plus’ not only a contributor to the new design of Young Chang pianos but from 2014 has brought his talents to the name of Weber pianos too. According to the information on their website, a ‘redesigned’ product line began in 2009 that introduced an exciting collaboration with Delwin Fandrich. Pianos are still being manufactured today by Young Chang but marketed under new names. The Bergmann/Young-Chang story does not conclude at this stage. It is this company that now makes the pianos that were once referred to as Bergmann. In 2006, the company rallied and bounced back into the world of piano manufacturing under the new company name of HDC Young Chang. Unfortunately, the takeover was deemed to be an unfair one by the Korean Fair-Trade Commission and this, in turn, led to the bankruptcy of Young Chang. The established Samick Musical Instrument Company purchased a huge amount of the Young Chang stocks in 2004, effectively taking control of the industry. Any company trying to recover from this has a major battle on its hands, especially given the immense rivalry in the market. Even though the aim in opening this factory was to manufacture entry-level pianos, once the founding and highly experienced workers returned to South Korea, the quality of the instruments dramatically dropped.
Where the questions surrounding the quality of the Bergmann (Young Chang) pianos may herald from is the fact that shortly after Young Chang opened a $40 million factory in China (Tianjin), the Korean piano technicians did not remain at the plant. ‘Weber Pianos’ was founded in 1986 and like Young Chang, is available today. Interestingly, Young Chang also manufactures ‘Weber’ pianos, a name adopted knowing the European bias towards the German piano manufacturers. Today, they are still producing pianos and remain amongst the largest manufactures of pianos. From the mid-nineteen-sixties, Young Chang produced pianos from Seoul and Incheon in South Korea, adding a Chinese-based factory in 1995. They are a large company not only manufacturing pianos but also apparently supplying wood for instruments across the world. Young Chang according to various sources holds an impressive fifty-percent of the South Korean piano market. What may be the appeal with Bergmann pianos is that they are not in the same price range as what could be considered to be the leading piano manufactures. Opinions about the Bergmann grand pianos are also very mixed, with equal concerns about the quality of the build, the engineering of the mechanisms, and the sound. The general advice seems to be fairly consistent to consider a Kawai or Yamaha piano instead. From discussion forums, I have gathered that the opinion of many pianists is that the Bergmann upright pianos are not, or were not made to reliable or consistent standards. The Bergmann/Young-Chang pianos would appear to be available in both upright and grand varieties and so appeal to all budgets and levels of performer. This might make any further research you decide to do a little easier especially if you are actively searching for a new instrument. The correct name for these instruments is, from the research, I have undertaken, are Bergmann/Young-Chang pianos.
I perhaps ought to begin by taking a small sidestep and explain that the title Bergmann pianos is not really what they are. Following on from the article I wrote recently about Petrof pianos, we continue to explore the options for buying or renting a new piano with a review of ‘Bergman’ Pianos.
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