The Gardner hits a sour note

The Boston Globe today wrote about how the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum had spent $184,000 for a new Steinway. I was scratching my head. Why would a Boston civic institution like the Gardner get a Steinway from Hamburg, Germany, when it could go up the road to Haverhill and support a local business, Mason & Hamlin?  Plus, it would be bringing a bit of diversity to the Boston music scene, which like most places is dominated by Steinway pianos. M&H is known as the grand piano maker that doesn’t churn out Steinway clones. Picking an M&H piano would have made a civic statement, and perhaps brought some intrigue to the Gardner’s musical programs.