"We finally took the delivery of our piano, a Petrof Model IV grand. Initially, My wife and I had a great deal of trouble deciding whether to choose the gorgeous flame mahogany finish or the polished ebony finish. Eventually, we settled on the latter for its more serious look and its ease to blend with any kind of home furnishings. The long decision process actually produced a good surprise. We found that the new Petrof grands are now equipped with slow-dropping fallborads, just like Kawai's and Yamaha's. We loved this nice safety feature. Our delivery date was hence set back for another month and a half because the dealer did not have in stock a high-gloss ebony Petrof with that feature. As a matter of fact, he claimed ours would be the very first one in the States. Now this beautiful piano is seating in our den and we love it!

"I would like to thank this forum and all the contributors for the information and helps I have received, especially those who replied to my earlier postings. Now I am actually addicted to this forum and read it almost on daily basis. Finally, for those who are interested, the Petrof grands equipped with slow-dropping fallborads are those with Serial No. 557760 or later.

Congratulations, Lee! This forum has certainly been an interesting one to watch and participate in. And many of us who are regular contributors, I am sure, have been as equally gratified as I have that some people on this board have become happy new piano owners. Having sampled some of what's out there, including the really exceptional Petrof IV, and having read the many stories of others out there who have bought even more staggering pianos, like the Mason & Hamlin BB's, those of us who would be involved in any way in this business are hugely grateful that people out there are buying these exceptionally fine pianos. It's almost as if it's a tide turned against a negative cultural drift. Real pianos make real music. There may be little else that can compare with the momentary immortality of being able to play a great piece of piano music from memory on a truly great piano. Again, congratulations!