Art-Deco Schiedmayer Grand Piano. Designed by Peter

Schiedmayer Grand Piano with an Art-Deco case Inlaid with Mother of Pearl, Lapis Lazuli and Malachite in Geometric Designs. Designed by Peter Behrens.

A 1901 Schiedmayer grand piano with an Art-Deco case inlaid with mother of pearl, lapislazuli and malachite in geometric designs. The lid design resembles an angels wing. Music desk made from brass with a sunburst design. Legs feature geometric square pillar design this is also echoed in the piano lyre. The brass inlay of the company name Schiedmayer is made in Peter Behrens own typography. This Schiedmayer piano was designed by Peter Behrens.

Price is £406,000GBP at current exchange rates.

In 1899 Peter Behrens was invited to build his first house on land bought from Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine. The Grand Duke, a noble friend of the arts, sold land to seven artists, Peter Behrens, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Patriz Huber, Rudolf Bosselt, Hans Christiansen, Paul Bürck and Ludwig Habich. The Artist Colony of Darmstadt was born. Peter Behrens' house was the most expensive villa built there. Peter Behrens, a self-educated person, only chose the most luxurious companies to bring his design dreams to life. He designed two wonderful wall mosaics for the music room, which where produced by the famous company Villeroy & Boch. Peter Behrens decided to give his grand piano design to the Schiedmayer Pianofortefabrik in the town of Stuttgart because he was impressed by other Schiedmayer art case pianos he had seen. The piano with the serial number 32345 was made in the period from 1900 -1901.

Peter Behrens at The Artist Colony of Darmstadt
In 1899 Behrens left the artistic circles of Munich and moved away from the Jugendstil towards a sober and austere style of design. In 1902 Peter Behrens decided to sell his House and he went to Düsseldorf to be the Direktor of the Düsseldorf School of Applied Arts. In that period together with 10 Artists, he was founder of the German Werkbund. In 1907, the company AEG retained Behrens as artistic consultant. He designed the entire corporate identity the logotype, product design, publicity, etc. and for that he is considered the first industrial designer in history. Peter Behrens was never an employee for AEG, but worked in the capacity of artistic consultant. In 1910, Behrens designed the AEG Turbine Factory. From 1907 he did not work alone in his office in Berlin, and among them were Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Adolf Meyer, Jean Kramer and Walter Gropius.

Reference Number: 1852
Make: Schiedmayer
Serial Number: 32345
Age: 1901
Wood: Rosewood
Description: This piano is restored

RESTORED: Tuned, Cleaned, Regulated. All strings replaced. Soundboard repaired where necessary. Frame coated. All hammer heads renewed. New dampers and leathers replaced where necessary. Keys Tops cleaned or replaced. Case stripped and repolished to an excellent standard.

For more information and photos of this Art-Deco Schiedmayer grand piano visit:
http://www.besbrodepianos.co.uk/piano-sale/schiedmayer-grand-piano-peter-behrens.htm

This piano featured in our 'Golden Age of Pianos Exhibition' that ran alongside the Leeds International Piano Competition 2012. To view an archive of this exhibition, visit: http://www.besbrodepianos.co.uk/golden-age-of-pianos-exhibition.htm

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We permanently display more than 250 new and pre-owned pianos from leading brands with
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Besbrode Pianos is an authorised agent for Steinway & Sons and offers the full range of Steinway, Boston and Essex pianos for retail.

For last six years Besbrode Pianos has been official partner to the Leeds International Piano Competition, providing pianos for the competitor's rehearsals. This year, alongside the competition we held an artcased piano exhibition showcasing a range of unique, pianos of cultural and historical interest. Our showrooms were featured in the BBC footage of the Leeds International Piano Competition 2012.

BBC Footage: A brief history of the pianoforte - Leeds International Piano Competition 2012 filmed at Besbrode Pianos Leeds
http://youtu.be/BMxqAKxWMYA