Read below from this article from todaysparent.com
http://www.todaysparent.com/activities/can-music-make-your-child-smarter?page=0,0
Amazing pianos (Part 2)
Yes, there are plenty of cool-looking pianos out there for those who can fork out the dough…they are visually stunning!
1. Heintzman Crystal Piano by Heintzman
Features:
-so far, it is the most expensive piano ever sold!
-sold to a private bidder for 3.2 Million
2. Alma-Tadema by Steinway
Features:
-designed with decorations in 1887 by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
-has been described as “the most artistic piano ever produced
-made for $1,200 sold for 1.2 Million (110 years after it was made)
-Steinway has reproduced this piano in 2006
-inlaid with 2,200 pieces of mother of pearl
3. Summertime by Steinway
Features:
-hand painted by Timothy Martin
-sets you back $165,000.00
-painted with flowers, plants, birds, insects, the piano inspires you to compose beautiful melodies as if sitting on the banks of a lake on a beautiful summer day.
4. The Hydra by Apostol Tnokovski
Features:
-the creator was inspired after watching Lady Gaga perform at a concert. He thought her piano didn’t suit her stage and outfits, so he designed a piano that he thought would fit in better
-unknown price
Photo from dvice.com
5. Key between you by Yamaha
Features:
-Yamaha created this digital keyboard in an attempt to bring the audience closer to the performer
-the keyboard is designed in a way to allow the audience to experience the music in a closer way, and the seats are arranged in a circle.
Photo from trendsupdates.com
6. Key in Cantilever by Yamaha
Features:
-looks like two rectangular slabs
-architecturally unique
-digital
-has an 89th key that detaches and is a remote control!
Photo from gemssty.com
Photo from luxury-insider.com
7. Yamaha Avant Grand N3
Features:
-this amazing work of technology is both acoustic and digital
-because it’s a digital piano, it will NEVER need tuning. Also, you can connect this to a computer for composing and recording music, and you can get various sound effects
-can hear music through headphones
-extremely realistic sound and touch (compared to an acoustic piano)
-has some parts that are part of an acoustic piano; therefore, this piano is part of a new breed called “hybrid” pianos, that have both acoustic and digital parts
Photos from Yamaha
Amazing pianos you’ve never seen before! (Part1)
The piano can produce beautiful sounds…and piano makers have been inspired to create beautiful pianos as well.
As seen on my previous post about ancient instruments, some keyboards have been decorated with beautiful paintings and other imbued with fancy details. But these pianos created lately are just breathtaking:
1. The Schimmel Grand Piano – “Pegasus” by Luigi Colani
Features:
-electric opening lid
-digital and acoustic sounds (piano hybrid)
-sets you back $250,000.00
-only 14 were ever made
-ergonomically curved keyboard
Here’s someone playing on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygPjM9jArqE
2. Emperor by Boesendorfer
Features:
-fit for an emperor! In 1869, the Emperor of Austria presented this piano as a gift to the Emperor of Japan.
-The plans were preserved, and this piano is an exact replica!
-sets you back 1.25 Million
Here’s a link to someone playing on the Emperor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91LtSUE-7zE
3. The Swarovski by Bosendorfer
Features:
– 8,000 hand-cut Swarovski crystals
-trimmed with 24K gold accents
-sets you back $750,000.00
4. The Kuhn-Bosendorfer piano
Features:
-100,000 hand cut, polished jewel-like pieces of glass arranged in diamond patterns.
-sets you back $1.2 million
5. Schimmel Grand K 213 Glas
Features:
-transparent (how cool is that?)
-made with acrylic plastic
-sets you back $160,000.00
Watch Alicia Keys perform on a transparent piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLclkP9x_68&ob=av2e
6. M Liminal by Fazioli
(I’ve seen this piano at the Fazoli store in Aberdeen)
Features:
-inspired by the ocean, the side looks like waves
-the black and silver combination imitates a dolphin
-sets you back$560,000,00
Here’s someone playing it at Aberdeen Mall in Richmond :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_N2ywVPmz4
Photos from Fazioli
7. Marco Polo by Fazioli
Features:
-specifically commission for a Chinese client
-handpainted reproduction of a Canaletto painting, celebrating the ancient connection between Venice and China
-unknown price
Poll time!
Ancient Instruments
If you are lucky enough to visit Vienna, Austria, you MUST see the Kunsthistorisches Museum (the Museum of Art History). Not only does it house famous paintings by Raphael, Rembrandt, Brueghel, an impressive collection of arms and armour, Egyptian artifacts, and many more, it has an absolutely amazing collection of Ancient Musical Instruments!
This is the entrance to the collection:
Just outside the entrance is this grand hall with a grand piano:
Once inside, you can look back on the history of many instruments, especially the pianoforte! The piano we have today was not the same one that Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven composed and performed on! Instead, the modern piano has evolved from its creation by in the late 17th century by Bartolomeo Cristofori, an Italian music instrument maker. Since then, the keyboard has been improved by John Broadwood, Sebastien Erard, Alpheus Babcock and Steinway & Sons.
Before then, stringed keyboard instruments such as clavichords, virginals, and harpsichords were used. Their sound was created by a completely different mechanism. In the museum, you can hear recordings of these instruments, and even recreate those sounds yourself!
This museum shows an huge variety of keyboards, from the earliest ones to ornate keyboards which were played for kings and queens in castles and palaces!
Included are some interesting twisty instruments.
Look carefully…the usual key colors are reversed!
This keyboard was operated by bellows:
Could this be the predecessor of the Keytar (keyboard guitar)?
Interesting variation of the keyboard:
Yes, it’s backgammon and piano together!
I highly recommend a visit to this museum. You won’t be disappointed!
Welcome everyone!
This is my very first blog entry. I am hoping to make this the portal for anything to do with music, especially the piano, through me! With years in teaching experience, I want to share my thoughts and ideas, and anything relevant I come across.
Check back often! Happy music making!
Hannah's Piano Studio 
