Expressive, modern, elegant — the new Steinway & Sons Limited Edition captivates stylish lines and an extraordinary colour design.
The Limited Edition has been created in collaboration with French designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, the originator of myriad iconic designs, notably in furniture and interior design. Globally acclaimed projects highlight his focus on materials and his love of organic form. For the design of the Noé Limited Edition, the designer took his inspiration from the sights and ambiance of the natural world — a celebration of light and sound.
AN UNMISTAKABLE COMPOSITION
Handcrafted in the Hamburg Steinway Factory, the grand pianos, with their curved lines and sleek, dynamic silhouette, embody a sublime marriage of aesthetic and artisanal. In a departure from the classic Steinway & Sons grand piano, the rim of the Noé Limited Edition features an captivating, flowing shape. The legs are of distinctly round pair with this soft flow and the unusual lyre, made of metal, extends the beauty of the instrument.
“Designing a piano for Steinway can happen only once in your life.”-NOÉ DUCHAUFOUR-LAWRANCE
DESIGNER
THREE COLOUR CONCEPTS — IN AESTHETIC HARMONY
IVORY WHITE
Lustrous ivory white finish is combined with exquisite figured sycamore — with its typical fine grain — to create a light, delicate, and even playful instrument. The sheen of the silver-colored cast-iron plate contrasts with the radiant chrome of the lyre and the fittings.
DEEP BURGUNDY RED
Deep, glowing burgundy red and red stained Indian apple come together in an instrument exuding warmth and elegance. The understated gold color of the cast-iron plate and lyre is complemented by satin brass fittings.
MIDNIGHT BLUE
Stunning, glossy midnight blue paired with the subtlest blue-stain mahogany wood grain make this instrument a true eye-catcher. A discreet silver-colored cast-iron plate, the elegant lyre and dazzling chrome fittings compete its sophisticated look.
NOÉ LIMITED EDITION WITH SPIRIO | R
All grand pianos of the Noé Limited Edition are equipped with Spirio | r, the world’s finest high resolution player piano technology capable of live performance capture and playback. Seamlessly integrated into the instrument, this feature opens new dimensions to the experience of playing in the home, enabling recording and editing of performances, connectivity for sharing your music, and a playback quality that is precise and nuanced.
An artistic collaboration between Steinway & Sons and Based Upon
Watch the first dreamy glance at “The London” on YouTube here.
“We love working with the team at Based Upon. Seeing our grand piano come to life at the Based Upon Studios is pure joy, and opens the doors to a whole new level of creativity. With the addition of our Steinway & Sons SPIRIO | r technology, we feel ‘The London’ is a beautiful eye-catcher in any home.”
-Craig Terry, Managing Director, Steinway & Sons UK
“Today, ‘The London,’ our latest collaboration with Steinway & Sons, continues in this vein, with our great city becoming a muse for the revered Model B SPIRIO | r. Our purpose is to make meaningful things. Things that matter; things worth keeping.”
-Ian Abell, Co-founder, Based Upon
Steinway & Sons UK has collaborated with Based Upon, the London-based creative house of artists, designers, and adventurers, to create ‘The London,’ an artistic adaptation of the Model B SPIRIO | r. With a lightness of touch to preserve the acoustic and revered form of the Steinway & Sons grand piano, ‘The London’ draws inspiration from the city in which it dwells.
For ‘The London,’ Based Upon sought inspiration from the leaves of the London Plane tree, a species found in the city’s central locations such as The Mall, Berkeley Square, and Regent’s Park. Noting the veins of the leaf are redolent of London’s fabled streets, the Plane tree’s leaves have been cast in brass to form the piano’s music desk. On the underside of the lid, the leaf is subtly placed as though in motion, caught by the wind, while the top stick is an abstraction of a Plane tree’s branch. London’s skyline is elegantly depicted on the piano’s hinge, informed by a series of photographs taken by Based Upon as they walked the banks of the city’s River Thames.
At the heart of ‘The London’ is Steinway & Sons Model B, handcrafted in the company’s Hamburg factory and often referred to by pianists as ‘the perfect piano.’ At 6’ 11” long, it is a wonderfully balanced and versatile instrument featuring Steinway’s latest technology, SPIRIO | r – the world’s finest high-resolution player piano capable of live performance capture and playback. SPIRIO | r offers new experiences of playing music in the home, enabling recording, editing of performances, connectivity for sharing music, and playback quality that is precise and nuanced.
An exclusive passion project by Lenny Kravitz - The Kravitz Grand
Singer, songwriter, and artist Lenny Kravitz teamed up with Steinway to design an iconic crossover between art and music, the Steinway Kravitz Grand. Full YouTube video here.
This piano is a collaboration rich in artisan excellence, unlike anything Steinway has ever done before. The handcrafted motifs on the rim, inner lid, and music desk require a total of 200 hours of carving by Steinway craftsmen, carefully illustrating the modern Renaissance man, Lenny Kravitz’s personal style and passions.
For this deeply personal project, Lenny and his design team dissected every aspect of the Steinway’s construction, looking at the case, action, and even the screws to create a completely new look. The Kravitz Grand is inspired by African themes from painting, sculpture, and fabric design via the Paris art scene of the 1920s. Art Deco styling is juxtaposed with African motifs in an eclectic one-of-a-kind work of art, with fine materials and stunning attention to detail.
Only 10 of these pianos were made, and this one right here at Steinway Hall is the very last one available.
We spared no detail in this piano which also features our built-in Spirio | r technology – The world’s finest high-resolution player piano capable of live performance capture and playback. A revolutionary blend of artistry, craftsmanship, and technology, Spirio | r provides powerful new tools of expression and new ways to access, share, and experience performance — enriching connection and intimacy.
