Welcome to Living Pianos! I’m Robert Estrin. Today we have a truly extraordinary story about the world’s largest piano! Let’s start with something familiar. Most concert grand pianos, like Steinway’s famous Model D, measure around 9 feet long. This is the gold standard for concert halls worldwide. But some piano makers push these limits. The Bösendorfer Imperial Grand, for instance, stretches to 9 ½ feet and even features extra keys in the bass range, creating a massive sound. Then there’s Stuart and Sons from Australia, with pianos just under 10 feet! But it doesn’t stop there. The Italian maker Fazioli takes it even further, producing a 10-foot 2-inch concert grand piano—currently one of the largest concert pianos in regular use. But today, we’re talking about a piano even larger than that!
Adrian Mann, a young piano enthusiast from New Zealand, had a vision that went beyond anything we’ve ever seen.
At just 15 years old, Adrian took on the incredible challenge of building the world’s largest piano. And when I say large, I mean massive! This piano measures a jaw-dropping 5.7 meters in length, or over 18 feet long! It took him four years to complete, and the result is simply spectacular. What makes this piano truly special isn’t just its size, but the sound it produces. The deep, resonant bass and rich tones created by the enormous soundboard are unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. It’s a whole new level of piano performance, with strings so long that the vibrations create a truly immersive experience.
Adrian’s creation stands as a testament to the dedication and passion of one individual, pushing the boundaries of piano craftsmanship to new heights.
The sheer magnitude of this instrument challenges even the most seasoned pianists. And it all began with the dream of a teenager from New Zealand! You can hear this piano being played here.
So, what do you think? Could this giant piano inspire a new direction for piano design in the future? Let me know your thoughts in the comments here at Livingpianos.com and on YouTube! I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. Thanks for joining me, and I’ll see you next time!
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10 thoughts on “The World’s Largest Piano”
I suppose this beast is never to be moved…
That is, in a nutshell, the reason why pianos use thicker wound strings in the bass instead of the longer strings, which produce more fundamental tone instead of mostly overtones.
He was so young and talented what a great piano he and his father made a lot of adjustments to that instrument… maestro, your a great man and love the article! You see atricle about another guy in europe made a piano you need a latter to climb up to it to play….sweden I think? 🙂
There are some amazing innovations happening right now with pianos!
I’ll be looking for a video from you with details! 🙂
I thought I’d mention a detail about this piano. Why so long? Because the lowest notes on a piano require a string that long. Normally, the piano is constructed to overcome this problem by wrapping the string in a spiral around a much shorter string. The builder of this piano stretched the string out to its full length.
Robert, do you think you will ever have the opportunity to play this piano? I’d love to watch a video if you do.
I would love to play that piano! If there’s ever an opportunity, I will certainly make a video.
Neat endeavor, interesting result. There’s arguably a better video and recording here, showing still photos of various milestones in the instrument’s construction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G50H9rHWBEE
Thanks for sharing the video!
Awsome