In celebration of the 300th anniversary of the invention of the piano, Steinway & Sons and internationally acclaimed furniture designer, Dakota Jackson, have created the Tricentennial Art Case piano. The introduction of this limited-edition piano marks the first time since the early 20th century that a 6-foot-2-inch (188 cm) Model A grand piano has been offered by Steinway in the Americas. In addition, the Tricentennial is the first limited-edition piano to be jointly created at Steinway & Sons’ factories in New York and in Hamburg, Germany. In order to reflect Steinway pianos’ international appeal, this particular piano combines the expertise and craftsmanship of both Steinway factories. Fittingly, only 300 of these commemorative pianos will be produced.

The challenge of creating this new art case design, says Steinway Executive Vice President Frank Mazurco, was that the “piano had to embody Steinway’s 147-year tradition of creating each piano by hand, but the design also had to be a celebration of this fabulous instrument and how it changed the world of music.” As a renowned designer, a pianist, and an aficionado of Steinways, Dakota Jackson was a natural choice to design the Tricentennial. “To me,” Jackson says, “Steinway is synonymous with Piano. I wouldn’t consider designing a piano for any other company.”

As Jackson approached the complex task of creating a design that would be innovative while maintaining the traditional beauty of the Steinway piano, he was aware that great care had to be taken. “The very simplest alteration to the classic form would require a change in the way people perceive the piano,” he says. “After all, it has been an iconic symbol for three centuries. Therefore, any alterations could be considered only if they enhanced the design and validity of the piano.” As a first step towards creating the new Tricentennial design, Jackson reduced the piano to its essential form-a wood case enclosing a cast-iron harp or plate - and began designing it from the “instrument’s soul” out.

Jackson asserts that the final design of the Tricentennial breaks with traditional piano design by creating a continuous, flowing line form the back of the piano to the floor, merging the piano’s body and legs. Typically, Jackson says, this flow is interrupted with a series of stepped details reminiscent of classic Hellenic columns and structures.

Innovations

Aside from reconceiving the overall “look” of the grand piano for the limited-edition Tricentennial, Jackson also redefined many of the piano’s individual components for heightened functionality and elegance:

- Lid design: when open, the lid folds back on itself in a series of tapered sections, which fall at an angle, creating a fanned effect.
- Lid topstick: the topstick hugs the case’s inside “S” curve when the lid is closed, and becomes a striking design element when opened.
- Music desk: designed to hold sheet music like a pair of open hands, the angular music desk is mounted on a bearing to roll smoothly toward and away from the player.
- The piano’s lines: the rim line slopes down at a 6-degree angle as it approaches the tapered leg, and then takes what Jackson calls, “a dramatic turn toward the floor.”
- The rim and legs: the Tricentennial rim is raised in back, and the rear leg has been pulled forward and inward, creating a cantilever. All three unadorned legs taper gently to the casters on which they rest.

The piano was invented 300 years ago by Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori while he served in the Florentine court of Prince Ferdinand de Medici. This instrument, originally called the gravicembalo col piano e forteresembled the harpsichord in shape and construction. However, instead of plucking the strings as one would do when playing the harpsichord, the piano produced sounds when leather-covered hammers struck the strings. A primitive escapement, or rachet, mechanism controlled these hammers, allowing repetition of sound. Yet, what made Cristofori’s pianoforte unique was the fact that it was the first stringed keyboard instrument to produce a range of soft (piano) and loud (forte) tones, emulating the dynamics of the human voice.

By the turn of the 19th century, the piano had replaced the harpsichord and clavichord as Europe’s most popular keyboard instrument.

In the next 50 years, European piano makers contributed to the piano’s evolution, putting the instrument within reach of the middle class through mass production during the Industrial Revolution. However, it was in the United States that this European invention was perfected by piano craftsmen including, most notably, Henry E. Steinway and his sons.

In fact, the modern grand piano was a Steinway & Sons innovation design by C.F. Theodore Steinway, and patented in 1875. It was just one of an unprecedented 41 patents that C.F. Theodore would earn.

Related Tricentennial Events

The introduction of Steinway & Sons’ limited-edition Tricentennial piano coincides with the opening of PIANO 300: Celebrating Three Centuries of People and Pianos sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Commemorating the piano’s 300 years of influence, this year-long series of events explores this instrument as a complex machine, a work of decorative art, and a versatile means of human expression.

“Dakota Jackson was chosen to collaborate on the design of Steinway’s Tricentennial grand piano not only because he is one of America’s foremost furniture designers, but because his creations are noted for their pure, clean lines that celebrate function and beautifully uncluttered form,” says Frank Mazurco, Executive Vice President of Steinway & Sons.

Jackson began building his reputation for furniture design more than 25 years ago, and he has created couture, one-of-a-kind pieces for celebrities and private residences around the world.

Moreover, his corporate client list is filled with names such as Este Lauder, The Four Seasons Hotel in New York, The Regent Hotel in Hong Kong, as well as the executive offices of General Motors, IBM, Dell Computers, Columbia Pictures and Time-Warner.

With the commission to design Steinway & Sons’ Tricentennial artcase piano for the 300th anniversary of the invention of the piano, Jackson returns to his design-by-commission roots.

Growing up in a family of magicians in New York City, Jackson toured the country as a child performer, later turning his creative focus to custom-designed furniture for the private and corporate clients listed above. Jackson says that “innovative design is inextricably linked to innovative technology,” and he approached the Tricentennial design on that basis.

A lecturer at design schools and museums across the country, Jackson has won numerous design awards, including a National Endowment of the Arts Award, and an American Institute of Architecture Award for the design of a Winnetka, IL synagogue that was a collaboration with H. Gary Frank.

In 1998, Jackson also collaborated with well-known architect Peter Eisenman on the design for a Dakota Jackson showroom in the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.

Jackson designed the David Yurman Boutique on Madison Avenue, and currently is designing the chapel at the North American headquarters for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, both in Manhattan.

Jackson’s furniture is displayed in museums throughout Europe and the United States, and his company has 20 design showrooms across the country. The company’s main showroom is in Manhattan, and its two factories are in Long Island City, N.Y. where Steinway & Sons’ world headquarters is also located.