Ebonised, Steinway Model B Grand Piano. Des

A Steinway Model B grand piano with with an ebonised case. Case features three tiered mouldings at base. Music desk has a geometric filigree design. Piano has three barrel legs each carved with figures playing musical instruments and floral relief detail. The Steinway piano was commissioned by Leo Lewin circa 1910 for his villa in Breslau, Germany.

Price is £60,000GBP at current exchange rates.

Leo Lewin came from a family of textile producers. The family became wealthy during the first world war selling large orders of military clothing. Lewin was a prolific art collector and in 1917 purchased a spacious villa in order to create an exhibition space for his collection of paintings. Initially a collector of German art works by artists such as Liebermann, Slevogt and Menzel what made his collection truly famous was his acquisition of canvasses from leading European painters such as Manet, Monet and Picasso. The collection was known as the Silesian art collection.
Leo Lewin commissioned Oskar Kaufmann to design the interior of his villa including the design of all the furniture. A mix of artists collaborated to make all the furnishings and objects including Cesar Klein, Ernst Stern, Jackel, Kainer, Scheurich, Meid, Unger and others. The piano was one of the pieces specifically designed for the Lewin villa and was situated in the music room.
Oskar Kaufmann was an Hungarian-Jewish architect born in 1873. He is noted for his design of the Krolloper, the Hebbel Theater and the Renaissance Theater, all located in Berlin, the Neue Stadttheater in Vienna, and the Habima Theater in Tel Aviv. Kaufmann gained a strong reputation as a theater architect however, the first world war had a large impact on his business. It was around this time Kaufmann began taking on private commissions for private villas. Many of these villas still stand today. Leo Lewin's villa in Brelau is one of these.

Reference Number: 1853
Make: Steinway Model B
Serial Number: 171278
Age: 1915
Wood: Ebonised
Finish: Polished

For more information and photos of this piano visit:
http://www.besbrodepianos.co.uk/piano-sale/steinway-model-B-grand-piano-oskar-kaufmann.htm

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

Our extensive showrooms occupy three premises including four floors of a Victorian mill on the edge of Leeds city centre. This makes us one of the UK's largest retailers.

We permanently display more than 250 new and pre-owned pianos from leading brands with
an entire floor dedicated to the Steinway family of pianos. This impressive inventory offers pianists an
unrivalled opportunity to play and compare pianos side by side. We are experts in packing and shipping and have been selling pianos individually and by wholesale across the globe for the last thirty years.

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