Young Chang was founded in 1956 by three brothers, Jai-Young Kim, Jai-Chang Kim and Jai-Sup Kim, who started off as distributors for Yamaha pianos in Korea. In 1964, Young Chang began manufacturing Yamaha pianos under license for the domestic Korean market, and, in 1975, Young Chang ended that relationship to focus on its own brand of pianos which were becoming highly regarded.
Emergence As International Manufacturer
Young Chang moved aggressively into piano manufacturing. By the end of the 1970s, it was exporting pianos to the U.S., and also started establishing OEM relationships with other companies. Over the years, it has manufactured pianos for Baldwin (Wurlitzer), PianoDisc (Knabe), and Steinway (the Essex brand) amongst others. Today, it is owned by Hyundai Development Corp., and its CEO is B.J. Park, who is best-known as the CEO who dramatically improved the quality and fortunes of Hyundai Motors.Young Chang focuses on high quality entry and mid-level pianos, and has reached the Upper Level of Larry Fine's Consumer-Grade rating with its Albert Weber and Young Chang Platinum brands, which are identical except for the name on the fallboard. We believe that these pianos are not only strong competitors at the Consumer-Grade level, but that they compete against a number of the European pianos that Fine ranks as Good Quality Performance-Grade pianos.
Development of "World" Pianos
In 1995, Young Chang shocked the piano world by hiring away Joseph Pramberger from Steinway. Pramberger was Steinway's Vice President of Manufacturing and came from a family that traces its piano-building roots to the 1700s. Pramberger's hiring was the start of what can today be called the evolution of "world" pianos that may be manufactured in Asia, but are designed by the best engineers worldwide using components sourced globally.
While Joseph Pramberger died in 2003, his legacy remains at Young Chang in the designs of its Professional Artist and Platinum series, and in the development of "world" pianos that are collaboration of musical and engineering talent from around the globe.
Great Mid-Level Value of the PE-121 and PG-157
While Young Chang has a strong presence at the top of the Consumer-Grade level, it is also a major force at the mid-level of the market. In particular, Young Chang's PE-121 48" upright and PG-157 5'1" grand are two of the strongest pianos at the mid-level. The PE-121 gets its original heritage from Yamaha's well-known U-1, which Young Chang once manufactured under license from Yamaha, but benefited tremendously from design work by Joe Pramberger, while the PG-157 is an outstanding baby grand. The PE-121 is priced significantly less than a U-1, but is more than its match in sound and quality, while the PG-157 holds its own against well-known pianos like the Kawai RX series and the Yamaha C series but at a significantly lower price.
If you're looking to get the most for your money at the entry- or mid-level of the market, we believe that Young Chang's pianos are at the top of the price/performance curve. Come on in to see for yourself.
For more information, visit Young Chang's website.
Piano Dealer for the Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena areas.
