ANAHEIM, Calif.— To celebrate its centenary, German automaker Audi teamed up with renowned Austrian keyboard builder Bösendorfer to produce a uniquely beautiful grand piano. Yamaha is pleased to display the groundbreaking Bösendorfer Audi Design Grand Piano in its premium piano room at Winter NAMM 2011.

“One look at the Audi-designed Bösendorfer tells you this is no ordinary grand piano,” says Mark Anderson, Director of Marketing for Yamaha’s Keyboard Division. “Like the Yamaha Modus digital piano, this remarkable instrument lies at the cusp of exceptional aesthetic design and exquisite music making.”

The result of a longstanding relationship between the two companies, the Bösendorfer  Audi Design Grand Piano made its world debut at Audi’s 100th anniversary celebration at the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, Germany in 2009. Bösendorfer dealers are invited to view this stunning instrument and consider local promotional campaigns in conjunction with their local Audi dealer.

To create the remarkable design, the Audi Design Studio team in Munich set out to tackle the task of housing a concert grand piano in an Audi “outer skin,” reinterpreting Audi’s design philosophy in the form of a grand piano. Audi’s design team cooperated closely with the specialists at Bösendorfer, to create a remarkable cabinet that would not impact the piano’s sound.

While the piano’s acoustics remain unaffected, the Audi Design grand piano is certainly different. Incorporating important aspects of Audi automobile design, the piano features generous surface areas, sleek lines, sharply drawn edges and logically positioned joints. One of the most striking features, the lid, extends without a break down to the base – an innovation that yields a large, one-piece surface. To reduce the sense of weight on the treble side, a slim aluminium-look leg is used. In the same spirit of purist design, the designers have concealed the hinges in the lid above the keyboard. The lid itself can be opened with an unobtrusively integrated handle.

Priced at $140,000, the instrument can be ordered at audi@Bösendorfer.com.

For more information, visit Yamaha at Winter NAMM 2011 at the Anaheim Marriott Marquis ballroom, write Yamaha Corporation of America, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/press.