piano

Peruse any number of luxury real estate listings we've covered and you might notice that along with rain showerhead, granite countertops and Eames chairs, you might often find a grand piano anchoring the corner of a gracious living room. Owning a piano has always been a shorthand for expressing a certain standard of elegant living. But of course it's more than that, it can be an entertainer, a stress reliever and the heart of a home.

Larry Fine, the author of The Piano Book ,recently released the latest edition of Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer a twice-yearly publication devoted to the purchase of new, used, and restored acoustic pianos and digital pianos. The publication can be ordered in a print edition for $15.97 from the website or read there in its entirety. The publication contains a variety of articles, reviews and specifications designed to assist the buyer in making the big purchase. But just who is buying pianos these days? Luxist asked Mr. Fine a few questions of about choosing a piano.


1. I've noticed a few piano stores closing down recently. Has the economy affected the business?

Piano sales are in decline, as are most other "luxury" purchases. As home sales decline, so do home furnishings, and pianos often fit that category. However, this is good news for those who can afford to buy now. Piano manufacturers and dealers are discounting their instruments significantly in an effort to "weather the storm."

2. Do you hear of a lot of people buying a piano for looks, not for playing?

Most piano buyers either play or have children in lessons. A significant minority view it as an attractive piece of furniture that coveys a "cultured" image. For the art collectors, pianos come in many striking, beautiful, and unusual furniture styles that double as both musical instruments and works of art. Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer contains a number of examples of the piano as art.

Many of the non-playing buyers purchase a piano with an electronic player-piano system installed. Far from grandma's old "pump player," these new systems not only play the piano, but also add the entire orchestra or band as accompaniment. You can even have a video of Billy Joel playing and singing in your living room while the piano plays his music. These systems, which can be retrofitted to existing pianos, use CDs, MP3s, iPods, etc. for their input. Some even come with an optional video screen. Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer has a section on choosing an electronic player-piano system.

Audi is well accustomed to making intricately-crafted, finely-honed, shapely instruments capable of producing exquisite sounds and performances to the highest degree. Just take a look at the R8 supercar and you should need no more evidence. But for the company's centenary celebrations, Audi's design team has taken on a unique challenge, and partnered with Viennese piano-maker Bosendorfer to bring it to life.

While Porsche Design's Bosendorfer featured some intriguing elements, Audi's take on the grand piano starts from scratch. The automotive design team had to learn what goes in to making a piano, and then turned everything on its head to produce the creation you see here. The Bosendorfer Audi Design Grand Piano will make its world debut at the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, Germany, to mark the automaker's 100th anniversary on July 16, after which it will come to market for a rather suitable €100,000...one more thing it holds in common with Audi's finest automobiles.

Elvis Presley fans have one more day to pick up items from the Gotta Have It Collectibles auction of Elvis memorabilia. The top item, still without a bid the last time I checked, is Elvis Presley's white Wm. Knabe & Co. grand piano which he used at Graceland from 1957 to 1969 (which is when Priscilla bought him a new gold-leaf covered one). The piano was used in Memphis' Ellis Auditorium from the 1930s to 1957 and has also been played by other famous musicians including W.C. Handy, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Cab Calloway. It has a minimum bid of $500,000 and is estimated to sell for $750,000 - $1,000,000.

Presley's blue jumpsuit and cape with gold lining which he performed in at Madison Square Garden in 1972 is $100,000 and currently has oen bid. Not all of the items are so expensive. Pants Elvis wore start around $1,000 and pieces of Elvis Presley merchandise from the 1950s through the 1970s and Elvis albums start at just $10.

The beautiful Victorian-style piano shown above is the new William E. Steinway Limited Edition piano from Steinway. William E. Steinway was the second president of Steinway & Sons and his Steinway Centennial Piano which first made its debut in December of 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia is now reproduced in a line that bears his name. William E. Steinway had quite the career, and not just with Steinway pianos. He also founded the Daimler Motor Company on Long Island and headed the Subway Commission which planned the New York City subway system. The William E. Steinway Limited Edition piano is available in either Ebony or East Indian Rosewood with a carved scrollwork music desk and a representation of the twelve coats of arms of the royal families around the world who own a Steinway piano. There will only be 115 made.

Pianos seem to to lend themselves to dramatic turns of artistry. Case in point the new Kuhn-Bösendorfer piano, a collaboration between cold glass sculptor John Kuhn and piano makers L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH of Vienna, Austria. Instead of working with molten glass like most glass artists, Kuhn works in cold glass that is cut, polished, and fused from the inside out. His works have been featured in over 30 international museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Carnegie Museum, White House Permanent Collection, National Museum of American Art and hundreds of private residences and public spaces.The 7'4" black Kuhn-Bösendorfer piano and its matching bench contain as many as 100,000 hand cut, polished jewel-like pieces of glass arranged in diamond patterns. The piano will sell for $1.2 million and each instrument will have the purchaser's name written in gold leaf embedded deep within a crystal fallboard logo. The first Kuhn-Bösendorfer will be in Kuhn Studio's Winston-Salem, N.C. gallery shortly after it is shipped from Vienna in October.

[Thanks, Brian!]

Only two more months until this Lilly Pulitzer'ed Steinway can find its home in your parlor. Nothing can better express the fact you travel the Nantucket-Palm Beach axis with the greatest of ease. The venerable design house rolled out this Steinway, among other 50th anniversary treats like a Lillified Jeep Wrangler, at a special preview at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach back in June. In November, the pieces will finally hit market.

People who are serious about music -- piano music -- have most certainly heard the name Fazioli. It's a brand that's been quietly but steadily building a reputation for itself in the most exclusive of circles since the 1970s, and daring to give the well-established Steinway name a run for its money. The Fazioli line, which includes some of the most expensive pianos in the world, starts with an entry level 5'1" grand piano priced at $86,000 and tops out with their priciest creation, the Brunei, priced at $409,000. They also proudly sell the largest piano in the world, and many others with unique features and appearances. Great sounds meets great design? You be the judge.

Piano company Steinway & Sons is now in the watch business. Their unique Steinway & Sons Watches are designed to honor the company's musical heritage as well watchmaking and should be a hit with music lovers. Pianist and watchmaker Fabrizio Cavalca is behind the watches which are inspired by the look of a grand piano. The dial has 12 hand-fitted strings on a gold soundboard and ebonized hands with a satin finish. The second hand is in the form of a tuning fork. The mens' watch uses a Swiss automatic movement, a customized ETA 2000 with an ebonized rotor and bridge. The dial and the crown of the watch bear the Steinway logo and the strap is alligator.

The line includes a men's gold watch that comes in 18K white, yellow or red gold in a limited edition of 1853 pieces per model (Steinway was founded in 1853). The ladies version has a quartz movement and is set with 140 diamonds on the soundboard.

[via Time Zone]

Fashion designer and iPod aficionado Karl Lagerfeld has lent his name to a rather distinctive project, a Steinway Limited Edition Lagerfeld. The piano is done in black lacquer with glossy red accents and has an angular style. Lagerfeld's design includes a rounded rectangular music desk and legs inspired by Lagerfeld's childhood growing up in Hamburg, Germany. The piano sells for around $100,000.

[via The Globe and Mail]

I've seen some gorgeous custom pianos over the years but this is one of the most striking. It is a unique collaboration between Steinway and Sons, marquetry artist Silas Kopf, popular recording artists, and two charities (the Walden Woods Project and American Forests). The Walden Woods Art Case piano is being auctioned off tonight by Christie's at a fundraising event in Manhattan. Proceeds benefit the Walden Woods project which preserves Walden Woods and fosters the next generation of conservationists and American Forests, the nation's oldest nonprofit conservation group.

The plate of the piano has been signed, and the piano has been played by a variety of artists including Elton John, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Bruce Hornsby and Billy Joel. Billy Joel will play the Walden Steinway during his performance at the fundraiser/auction and Don Henley, the founder of Walden Woods will also perform. The marquetry wood art on the piano is made of naturally felled wood from the area surrounding historic Walden Pond in Massachusetts. The piano has a series of plaques surrounding the rim that depict trees and plants that Thoreau wrote about. The legs of the piano are inverted arches that depict Walden Pond and one of Thoreau's most well known quotations ("I went to the woods to live deliberately...") surrounds the upper rim of the piano. It is hoped that the piano will go for at least $500,000. The hi-res pic is in the gallery below so you can see the detail on this amazing piece.

If you just can't seem to get enough glitz in your home, you really love music, and you don't mind making obnoxiously large purchases online through eBay, then this one-of-a-kind Swarovski Crystal Collector Grand Piano by Bösendorfer will be right up your alley. Covered with 8,000 hand-cut Swarovski crystals it looks like something an ice princess would have in a fairytale, complete with matching bench. It's listed for a mere $750,000, and the auction ends Monday.

I love eBay, but I will never understand who does this kind of shopping online!

I took piano lessons as a kid and I think I really need to refresh my skills, because there is just something so classic and cultured about being able to sit down and play something. Not to mention pianos are a beautiful addition to any room, even when there is no music.

Two Austrian based entities have come together to create the Porsche Design Bösendorfer Piano, which combines contemporary design with old tradition. It boasts silvery shiny aluminum and dark gray metallic lacquer surfaces, along with other ground breaking new design features which may have a lasting impact on future piano development. It's definitely a nice way for a more modern home to incorporate some old-fashioned culture.

Via Sybarites

Perhaps one of the most revered musical instruments in the world (other than Clapton's sweet black Strat, "Blackie") has trumped the previous 'most expensive' piano in the world. One of the most elaborate, painstakingly detailed pieces of hand-craftsmanship - the Steinway "Alma-Tadema" has been outshined by one of the company's most unadorned - the "Model Z". But, much like Blackie, it's the instrument's celebrity owner that actually makes the difference.

The piano on which "Imagine" was written, John Lennon's 1970 Steinway was auctioned off in London to George Michael for £1.45 million (about $2.1 million), who proceeded to use it to record bits of his last album before returning it to in the Beatles Museum in Liverpool because, as he so generously supposed, "the piano was not the type of thing that should be in storage somewhere or being protected, it should be seen by people."

A music room just isn't the same without a lovely grand piano as a centerpiece. And if a glossy black isn't your thing, maybe you should look into something a little more grand. Steinway has recently introduced the premier piano in its "Legendary Collection." The piano, called the Alma-Tadema, is a re-creation of a piano built in 1887 and decorated the artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. The original piano was sold in 1997 for $1.2 million, making it the most expensive piano ever sold. The re-creation is separated from the original by over 100 years and exactly 500,000 Steinway serial numbers. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to own an exact replica of a truly legendary instrument.

A piano signed by over 60 musicians and other entertainers will be auctioned off as part of the David Foster & Friends Foundation concert at the River Rock Show Theatre on September 10. The Yamaha grand piano has been signed by Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Faith Hill, Josh Groban and Julio Iglesias. The musical instrument is David's "touring piano" and was recently featured in the "Andrea Bocelli: Amore Under the Desert Sky" show at Lake Las Vegas. Proceeds from the auction will help support families with children in need of major organ transplants. The piano will remain on display to the public, at the River Rock Casino Resort, until it is auctioned off.