‘It’s a beautiful thing’: Cordogan’s Pianoland marks 75 years of sharing music with others

A Geneva piano store is approaching the 75th anniversary of its opening back in 1950 on Oct. 22.

Cordogan’s Pianoland, at 33W441 Route 38, is a family business passed down through generations. Gus Cordogan founded the shop and owned it until 1989 when two of his children, John and Dianthe, took over.

“We were the ones that said we’d never do it,” John Cordogan said. “As we grew up, we realized that it’s a beautiful thing getting to share music and helping to share music with others and families.”

Gus Cordogan was a musician his entire life. After playing in the United States Marine Band during World War II, he opened his store and became the orchestra director at York High School in Elmhurst. According to John Cordogan, his father played 12 different instruments.

At one point, the Cordogans operated five locations. John and Dianthe remember spending time at the original store in Villa Park as kids.

“I was really little, so I would go with (my dad) in the car, and we would do my multiplication tables,” John Cordogan said. “That’s how I learned math.”

Dianthe now is 62 and John is 58. So when John was honing his math skills, hers already were being put to use in the family business.

“I’d sort the checks in groups,” Dianthe Cordogan said. “The numbers were too big. I didn’t even know what they were at that age, and he had me sort them in groups and then check them off in the checkbook and tell him if there’s any discrepancies. It was hysterical.”

Gus Cordogan died in 1992, and his children have kept the business going ever since.

Now down to one store, the Cordogans say Pianoland is navigating the internet age by leaning into a traditional business model and leveraging their industry expertise.

“We have decades of experience helping all of the different types of customers that are out there with all of the different types of options that are out there,” John Cordogan said. “No ChatGPT or AI is ever going to be able to give the kind of advice that we can give to people.”

Cordogan’s Pianoland is the exclusive authorized dealer of Kawai, Shigeru Kawai and Estonia’s full product lines, according to a news release.

In addition to selling pianos, the store provides other services such as moving, tuning, restoration and renting. Its website doesn’t have an online ordering option intentionally, because the Cordogans want to speak with each customer about their specific needs before purchase.

“If we don’t have what they’re looking for, we have no problem with them just walking away from the conversation better armed and better informed as to what they should be looking for,” John Cordogan said.

The Cordogans say providing the best service they can to help folks make an informed decision is how they differentiate themselves in the market. They both expressed a commitment to that and a desire to keep music in the cultural zeitgeist.

“It is really special that we’re continuing to do something that is culturally relevant and important to make sure that the cultural arts continue, and we’re providing instruments to help further that,” John Cordogan said.