Magnificent instrument!
Check out the most expensive pianos in the world and the interesting history behind each piece.
Galaxy Piano: $1.36 million
All that glitters is not gold but Galaxy Piano isn’t like that. Built by a United Arab Emirates-based firm of the same name, the piano has gold-plated embedded figurines, 24K gold plated fiberglass body, automatic lid (cover) and curved keys. Most of its parts were ordered from Germany. It is interesting to note that the company positions itself as a luxury item provider and not a musical instrument seller. Only a handful of pieces were designed of this $1.36 million piano for the firm’s elite customers.
Crystal Piano, Heintzman: $3.22 million
Not only is it one of the costliest pianos in the world, it is also immensely gorgeous — a sight to behold. Designed by Canadian piano manufacturer Heintzman Pianos, the immensely beautiful nine-foot musical instrument has a transparent body and futuristic look. It was exclusively made for large concert hall performances. It made its debut in front of the world during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when Chinese pianist Lang Lang played a rendition of the Yellow River Cantata before a global audience. The Crystal Piano was sold at an auction to an unknown bidder for a whopping amount of $3.22 million.
Marilyn Monroe’s Baby Grand Piano: $662,500
It belonged to an icon and it was bought by an icon. Marilyn Monroe had tracked down the piano, which belonged to her mother Gladys Pearl Baker and was sold many years before the latter’s demise. Marilyn simply loved the white lacquered baby grand piano. She even mentioned it in her autobiography. It was auctioned for sale in a Christie’s auction in 1999 along with other Monroe memorabilia. The highest bid was by pop star Mariah Carey who paid $662,500 for it.
Kuhn Bosendorfer Grand Piano: $1.2 million
A result of coming together of the exquisite acoustics of a Bösendorfer grand piano with the brilliance of the great glass sculptor, Jon Kuhn, this exceptional piece of art took more than a year to be completed.
Priced at $1.2 million, the 7 feet 4 inches gorgeous jet-black limited edition piano is decorated with 1,00,000 polished jewels of various shapes and sizes in 200 geometric patterns on its body. True to tradition, Austria-based L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik has inscribed Kuhn’s name in gold leaf on the piano.
John Lennon’s Steinway & Sons Model Z: $2.37 million
Just imagine getting to play the piano that legendary musician John Lennon used to compose his immortal track, Imagine! When it went under the hammer in 2009, it drew the attention of who’s who of the glamour industry. It also bears cigarette burns due to the singer’s smoking habit adding more value to it. The Model Z piano was collaboration of Steinway and the Sons and John Lennon, and the singer had reportedly purchased the piano for just $2,456 in 1970 as a gift for his wife.
At the auction, it was bought by British pop star, George Michael for an astronomical price of $2.37 million. Though it has a fine woody look, Michael joked that it was “funny-looking” and “the cheapest-looking piano you’ve ever seen”. However, he was very gracious and sent it to the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool, where the public could see it.