World’s Most Expensive Pianos

The harpsichord and other stringed instruments similar to pianos existed long before the piano’s invention. After all, luxury or one-of-a-kind models of today’s most expensive pianos can cost millions.

We’ll look at some of the priciest pianos ever sold. We’ll also go into details about the piano, including its history, some of the greatest pianists of all time, and interesting trivia you might not have known.

About

It has only been around for about three hundred years that the piano has existed as we know it. The first piano was witnessed in 1709 when its inventor, Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori, displayed it.

The “gravicembalo con piano e forte” was what he named it. This was eventually shortened to fortepiano or pianoforte, and eventually, it just became known as a piano.

Famous Pianists of History

Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin are a few of history’s most well-known piano players. However, we still have numerous talented pianists and musicians, some very young. We’ll talk more about the well-known Chinese pianist Lang Lang. Even though Lang Lang was only born in 1982, he has made a big impression on classical music.

Similarly, pianist Martha Argerich, born in 1941, is still alive today. She is well-known worldwide and frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists alive today.

Some Other Famous Pianists
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Stephen Hough
Murray Perahia
Mitsuko Ushida

Most Expensive Pianos In the World

‘As Time Goes By Piano

Price: $3,400,000

One of the two pianos in the film Casablanca was the “As Time Goes By” piano (1942). The “As Time Goes By” piano sold at auction for a staggering $3.4 million in 2014 and became the most expensive piano ever in history.

It has only 58 keys instead of the usual 88, which plays crucial and recurring roles in the movie. The piano is thought to have been manufactured by Kohler & Campbell.

Heintzman Crystal Piano

Price: $3,220,000

The Heintzman & Co. Crystal Piano has only been used once as a one-of-a-kind concert piano. This piano was made for the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, and the famous pianist Lang Lang played it in front of millions of spectators.

The Crystal Piano, despite its name, is not made of crystal but acrylic. The Heintzman Crystal Piano was sold at auction after its performance to an unidentified bidder, where it supposedly still is today.

Steinway & Sons ‘Pictures at an Exhibition

Price: $2,500,000

A show-stopping piano and a Russian composer named Modest Mussorgsky’s piece go by the moniker “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
Paul Wyse, the creator of the piece, used the musical composition as motivation to transform a Steinway Model D piano with various paints and modifications.

“Fibonacci” by Steinway &Sons

Price: $2,400,000

Another masterpiece from Steinway & Sons that is now for sale is the Fibonacci grand piano. Over 6,000 hours of labor and four years were put into making the piano.

The Fibonacci is a one-of-a-kind commemorative piano that costs a hefty $2.4 million to own.

Steinway & Sons’s “Red Pops for (RED) Parlor Grand.”

Price: $1,925,000

This unique version of Bono, a member of the band U2, served as an inspiration for Steinway Parlor Grand. To raise awareness, Bono decided to commission a piano (RED). Its auction revenues were given to the African continent’s effort to combat illness.
Stewart Rahr won the auction with a bid of more than $1.9 million. The event established the Red Pops piano as one of the most expensive auction pianos of all time and raised more than $26 million for charity.

Blüthner Lucid EXO

Price: $960,000

Surprisingly, the Blüthner Lucid EXO is the first piano you can order for production, making it one of the unique pianos on this list. Using the most recent 3D printing technology, Blüthner created the EXO piano line, allowing extremely intricate designs and shapes.

Bösendorfer Opus 50

Price: $750,000

The Bösendorfer Opus 50 is not a copy; rather, it is a tribute to both the history of Bösendorfer and neoclassical Vienna. Several neoclassical instruments from the 1867 World Exhibition in Paris served as inspiration for the Imperial model grand piano.

The Bösendorfer Opus 50 is available as a collectible, but it costs a lot.

Galaxy Piano

Price: $1,360,000

One of the strangest pianos ever produced is this one from Galaxy Instruments. Only five of the Galaxy Pianos were ever produced, and to make it truly unique, it had an automated lid, curved piano keys, and a gold-plated fiberglass body.

If one of these pianos is auctioned once more, the price has been set at $1.36 million above. Additionally, the Galaxy Piano features an iPad-controlled auto-play system.

C. Bechstein Sphinx

Price: $1,200,000

The original C. Bechstein Sphinx piano, which is 130 years old, is actually a replica of the C. Bechstein Sphinx Grand Piano. However, despite its non-originality, the Sphinx was crafted with incredible precision, staying as close as possible to the original images.

The production of the replica itself required 1800 working hours and 32 months.

The ‘Tiny Piano’

Price: $602,500

The “Tiny Piano” is the companion piano to the other Casablanca piano we previously examined, the “As Time Goes By” piano. On the other hand, this piano had a much smaller role in the movie, so its value was lower.
Despite this, this miniaturized upright piano sold for a respectable sum when it was first auctioned off in 1988, but when it came back on the market.

Robert Poirrer

Robert Poirrer is a contributing author who covers Hollywood latest movie releases and web series for the MovieThop website. He has a decade of experience in writing movies based articles for numerous renowned media outlets. He is excellent at creating unique content based on emerging trends in a variety of categories especially entertainment, movies and lifestyle. When not writing articles you could find Robert enjoying mountain biking trips with his friends. He graduated in English Literature from North Carolina State University.