Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum another mansion piano

hi folks--here's another rare piano in a rare space--no closeups of the piano--too bad--but here it is in the foyer

https://ap.rdcpix.com/aaa36c86fc4369fdeaa34cbbc82f5131l-m1353434209od-w1024_h768.webp

of this house

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/180-Narragansett-Ave_Newport_RI_02840_M43569-79933

on a marble floor no less.

drool and swoon.

Why are you posting pictures of one of my pied-à-terres?

Pity the poor pianist stuck in the corner with his/her back to the room. Obviously s/he is intended to play for "occasions" and not be seen, as opposed to the children who may be seen but must not be heard!

Another example of pianos as decoration, I guess,

Cheers!

The statue on the lid is also rather odd and does not look conducive to playing anything forte. Maybe they’re only playing lullabies?
Given the tableau, I can’t imagine the piano gets played much at all. I wonder if it was chosen because the size perfectly fit under the stairwell, which was otherwise going to be dead space?

Also telling that in a 14 million dollar house with 14 bedrooms, both indoor and outdoor pools, a personal spa, and a gazillion other *interesting* things, there is no dedicated music room.

Then you learn that's just their throwaway piano, their real piano is in the back.

There's nothing wrong with a piano as decoration or being rarely played or being chosen because it fits under the stairwell or the mansion not having a music room. I think criticizing people for things like that is arrogant.

[There's nothing wrong with a piano as decoration or being rarely played or being chosen because it fits under the stairwell or the mansion not having a music room. I think criticizing people for things like that is arrogant.


I think this might just be a little sarcasm Sheldon

I was just poking a little fun at people who have financial resources on a scale that is difficult for me to comprehend. I have no doubt that the owners have some great personal accomplishments, and they are very clearly more professionally/financially successful than I will ever be. I don’t have a problem with that. But I also can point out what I see as incongruities in their decor. I laugh at myself and my eccentricities plenty. I don’t feel it’s a terrible sin to laugh a little at the eccentricities and excesses of the Rich and Famous.

To me, this kind of mansion is its own statement of a kind of arrogance. To the owners, perhaps it’s just ‘home,’ or one home of many. They are of course entitled to own whatever they want, for whatever reason they want, and there are certainly worse things they can do with their money than buy a piano to fit particular specifications of the room.

At least they have put it in the foyer so that when you call you can play it instead of just waiting sitting on the also provided sofa while their butler fetches the person you are visiting. Hopefully they also have a music room housing the best piano for you to also play if they liked your first performance :-)

I interpreted your post as you meant tongue and cheek. Good with me!

I think it's a little harsh to call it arrogance . Ostentatious perhaps but arrogance is too strong a word for me. It is not a bad place for a grand and I can see how when you have a dinner party and everyone is sat in the room next door how having the piano in the adjoining space would allow a pianist to provide ambient music without overpowering the conversation .

If I ever had a mansion, then I could see myself having several grand pianos in the various entertaining rooms . In fact I have to stop myself from buying a second grand piano because I keep seeing 100 year old grands that I want to make a project piano just because. In 2/3 years if the kids get to past grade 8 and start doing diplomas then I might very well just do that because music for 2 pianos (either 4 or even 8 hands) is so much fun!

Some posters routinely criticize wealthy people who own pianos for purely decorative purposes. I think this is arrogant. It should also be remembered that some of the smaller and midsize makers of very expensive pianos might not survive if not for those who buy pianos purely for decoration.

That really is a bit unfair. Call them critical if you like but where does the arrogant come from? Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and that doesn't imply arrogance to me (apart from some contrived examples it would be possible to come up with). There again I'm in the (slightly) critical camp myself when it comes to waste and opulence in general.

To me, arrogance implies a sense of superiority. In this case, I think these kind of messages are saying "I am a musician and pianos should be purchased for playing music."

OK, I'll go along with there being perhaps some slightly arrogance if the view is "I am a musician so I'm entitled t think pianos should be purchased only for playing music". However the same view of using pianos for playing could be held by non musicians. Or by musicians that don't have that arrogance but just think we only have one planet and we shouldn't waste its resources etc etc etc.

Golly gee and criminentlies--I didn't mean to stir the pot.

I was interested in the art deco design of the piano, and the fact that it's in a foyer.

Plus, say what you will, I would live there in a second had I the coin. Room for several concert grands of various makes.

Thank you for sharing. See, I’m the person that hopes to find a fine piano mostly used as furniture in an estate sale. I actually like where the piano is sitting in that mansion. For parties the pianist could play as the owners descend the steps to greet the guests. I’d move the statue off the piano lid to be displayed adjacent to the piano.

I’d also be interested to see what they have parked in the 5 car garage.

I don’t really envy the super rich anymore. As long as their wealth doesn’t include my hard earned tax dollars. 😎

Same here! I'm far from rich and I'm content. Very wealthy people appear to be on a 24x7 power and ego trip. No thanks. I'll remain thankful and appreciative for what I have. It's a lot more than most to be totally honest.

Please note:

Through a one time inheritance from my parents (after my mother passed away in 2012) received a trust account and additional monies that total well over one (1) million dollars making me a "millionaire" in the numbers for these accounts -- while this has allowed me to completely restore the old house I am now residing in (along with buying a grand piano) take note the neighborhood is a very poor one and is not at all like my spoiled upbringing. As I have never been a conceited "rich" person who only puts MONEY above everything else. I personally do not like the life styles of the "rich and famous" as many are quite arrogant and do not understand the inherent suffering of poor people in poor neighborhoods and poverty. My own past involves having lived on the streets for about 20 years. Have been financially helping a disabled family that I know as of right now and will continue to assist them as needed. It is far better to "give" rather than "receive" when it involves money.

Isn’t it short sighted to generalize about the super-rich? The Kennedy family ingrained a strong philanthropy in all their kids from an early age. The Gates’, the Dell’s have been heavily involved in global philanthropy

I assure you that I am just part of the middle class, but I still try not to make negative assumptions about someone else’s wealth. Sometimes, with a little information, I am impressed by what they do with their wealth ( and of course, sometimes not)