Adorned with over 164,000 handset cubic zirconia stones and designed to capture the essence of New York’s famed jazz era musicians, this 1917 American-made Steinway & Sons grand piano has been perfectly restored and redesigned to become the “Million Dollar Piano.”
Renowned piano restoration company, Piano Solutions XXI, is debuting its newest customized piano innovation – a million dollar Fabergé inspired showpiece, the New York Serenade. Gene Korolev, president and founder of Piano Solutions XXI and his daughter, Katherine Banyasz took over a year to complete this handcrafted custom Steinway & Sons grand piano. Katherine created a unique initial concept for New York Serenade custom piano. The process was a tremendous challenge, they overlaid, drilled, and eventually handset each of the 164,000 stones into the piano under a glass-like polyester finish.
The piano has a matching bench that contains over 7,500 gemstones. “To achieve a beautiful glowing effect and portray the energy of the city that never sleeps, the piano was adorned with lab-made diamonds throughout. The piano especially reminds me of that tune sang by Frank Sinatra, ‘New York, New York,’” states Banyasz.
Imagery of Central Park, Grand Central Station, the Brooklyn Bridge, Cotton Club, and Steinway Hall glisten with lab-made diamonds across the body of the piano completed in an art deco style, reminiscent of the era’s popular aesthetic. Overlapping dancing figures set in the background show images of swing dancers while telling the story of a couple enjoying their time in the Big Apple. Standing close to the piano allows you to capture images of musical instruments overlaid with a ghost-like effect. “It was essential for my design to reflect the independent spirit of the Roaring 20’s, when both jazz and the American dream were rattling the world,” says Banyasz.
In addition to its beauty, New York Serenade has a superb sound and application of many technological innovations. A Live- Performance Model LX high-resolution player system is built in, with an advanced trap-work mechanism that displays self-moving pedals designed and developed by Gene Korolev. This allows the piano to play music from any wireless source – including computers and tablets. A mini iPad with extensive music library also comes with the piano. From the delicate pianissimo to the thunderous fortissimo, all the dynamics of the instrument are reproduced in high-definition.
