The world’s most luxurious grand pianos? Lenny Kravitz put his spin on the Steinway Kravitz Grand Limited Edition while Drake has a Bosendorfer in his mansion …
- The Bosendorfer 214VC Camellia is by the brand that created the piano owned by American rapper Drake, decorated with Takashi Murakami’s lid art
- The baroque C. Bechstein Golden Grand Piano Louis XV is modelled after one given to Queen Victoria – and is the polar opposite of the futuristic, yacht-inspired Fazioli M Liminal
What: Kravitz Grand Limited Edition
How much: HK$3.9 million (US$487,000)
Why: Could this tiger-striped (also known as Macassar ebony) beast be the perfect piano for a modern tiger mum? It’s certainly not what a traditionalist might expect in a Steinway & Sons piano. For 167 years, Steinway has kept their grand pianos – considered one of the gold standards in musical instruments – pretty consistent by way of design.
So cue the faux cheetah print seat cover. Cue the rock’n’roll. Cue the bewitching bubble and fizz of Kravitz distilled in a newly reimagined Steinway.
The American Woman singer and songwriter was invited to put his very own unique spin on Steinway’s Model B, often referred to by pianists as “the perfect piano” because of its balance and versatility.
For the Kravitz Grand, 15 layers of hard rock maple and rare Macassar ebony offer that dynamic tiger-stripe effect on the exterior. There is a strong African aesthetic drawn from the influence of the continent on paintings, sculpture and fabric of the Paris art scene of the 1920s. These African/Parisian deco hand-carved motifs feature on the piano rim, inner lid and music desk, and took Steinway artisans 200 hours to carve.
There is also a brutalist element in the Kravitz Grand that offsets the visual richness of the African art deco. Hand-carvings are seen on block-style, black piano legs. The piano bench’s form, too, is brutalist utilitarian at its best – but also features the indulgent tiger-striped ebony and a faux cheetah-print cushion.
Only in the mind of a rock star and Renaissance man like Kravitz could such a piece be conceived and transfigured. And we are grateful.
A limited edition of 10 Kravitz Grand pianos will be available for order, each with its own numbered brass plaque.