Neufs, Bosendorfer, Cocteau

This piano is the last available special Collector’s Edition (3/12) Jean Cocteau grand piano from the Bösendorfer Artist Series. It is number 3 of a limited production of 12 produced by Bösendorfer in honor of Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) French writer, designer, playwright, artist, and filmmaker. He was a contemporary of Picasso and had working associations with many world-famous artists and musicians such as Igor Stravinsky and Erik Satie.

The Menton Music Festival is the oldest and one of the most prestigious music festivals in Europe. Piano music is featured significantly at the festival with outdoor concerts in the wonderful medieval town square, and indoor concerts inside the exciting ultra-modern Museum Jean Cocteau that houses the Severin Wunderman collection. In recent years the Museum concerts have been performed on Bösendorfer pianos and it was a perfect for Bösendorfer fit to craft a Collector’s Bösendorfer “Cocteau” Grand and offer it as a limited edition Art-Case piano from their Artist Series.

The sound and playability of this piano are amazing. What this piano puts forth in sound is complemented by the visual appeal and splendor of the case itself. This model 200 (6’-7”) grand piano in high-polished white is adorned with a reproduction of Cocteau’s ‘Orpheus’ on the inside of the piano lid and the plate is finished in a stellar metallic silver.

This Jean Cocteau Model 200 is truly an exceptional piano. We particularly love the ability of this piano to produce everything from the most gentle and expressive pianissimo to the most powerful forte notes with incredible detail and clarity. The notes just seem to sustain indefinitely with a pronounced richness and clarity that is quite remarkable.

The action and keyboard have been so expertly designed and handcrafted that there is a noticeable increase in the level of dynamic control available to the player not found on most other pianos manufactured today. This increased level of control allows the player to better express their intent due to the pianos ability to capture the nuances and emotions being expressed with greater detail. The more the piano gives back to the player, the more inspired the player becomes.

This piano plays and records exceptionally well due to the richness and clarity of the sound it projects. This is made possible partly due to the extra-long length of the bass strings and the increased size of the soundboard found in this 6’-7” model. Pianos in this size-range are especially good for performance and recording as the bass is less likely to overwhelm the other registers resulting in a more balanced and detailed sound. When listening to this piano live in a room, it has just the right amount of projection; the bass notes are neither lost nor overwhelming, they are just perfectly balanced with the higher octaves lending a solidity and richness to the overall sound.

The action is an absolute pleasure to play on. It is smooth, even, incredib