Steinway & Sons London has partnered with Based Upon, the London-based creative house comprised of artists, designers, and adventurers, to introduce “The London” – an artistic reinterpretation of the Model B Spirio | r. With a delicate touch to maintain the acoustic integrity and esteemed form of the Steinway & Sons grand piano, “The London” takes inspiration from the vibrant city in which it resides.
In the creation of “The London,” Based Upon drew inspiration from the leaves of the London Plane tree, a species abundant in the city’s prominent locations such as The Mall, Berkeley Square, and Regent’s Park. Recognising that the veins of these leaves mirror the intricate pathways of London’s renowned streets, brass casts of the Plane tree’s leaves were meticulously arranged to form the piano’s music desk. Beneath the lid, the leaf is positioned with a subtle suggestion of motion, as if caught by the wind, while the top stick abstractly represents a Plane tree’s branch. The elegant hinge of the piano features a depiction of London’s skyline, informed by a series of photographs captured by Based Upon during their walks along the banks of the city’s River Thames.
Central to “The London” is the Steinway & Sons Model B, meticulously crafted in the company’s Hamburg factory and renowned among pianists as ‘the perfect piano.’ With a length of 6 feet 11 inches, this instrument stands as a wonderfully balanced and versatile masterpiece, incorporating Steinway’s cutting-edge technology, Spirio | r – the world’s premier high-resolution player piano, capable of capturing and playing back live performances. Spirio | r introduces novel ways to experience music in the home, facilitating recording, performance editing, music sharing through connectivity, and delivering playback quality that is both precise and nuanced.
