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1911 Bosendorfer Traditional 200 $85,000

Fully Restored - Available to ship in 24 Hours

There are rare pianos, and then there are instruments that belong to a different category entirely, pianos that carry history in their wood, their wire, and their voice. This 1911 Bösendorfer Model 200 is one of those instruments.Built in Vienna at the absolute height of the city's musical golden age, this piano was crafted by hand in the same workshop tradition that produced instruments for Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, and Gustav Mahler. In 1911, Bösendorfer was not simply the most prestigious piano maker in Europe, it was the official Imperial and Royal Piano Purveyor to the Court of Austria, a title bestowed by the Emperor himself. Every piano that left the Vienna factory that year was a product of generations of unbroken Viennese craftsmanship, built with air-dried spruce tone wood, hand-wound bass strings, and a resonance case construction found nowhere else on earth.This instrument has now been fully restored in Europe, returned to the continent where it was born, and brought back to concert condition by craftsmen who understand the Bösendorfer tradition from the inside out. It arrives ready to deliver, in high gloss ebony, and plays with the warmth, depth, and singing sustain that only a Viennese grand of this caliber can produce. View videos of this piano being played here: VideosWhat Makes a Bösendorfer DifferentBösendorfer builds pianos the way no one else does — and has for nearly 200 years. While most piano manufacturers focus sound production through the soundboard alone, Bösendorfer employs what it calls the Resonance Case Principle: the entire body of the piano — rim, inner case, and integrated spruce components — is designed to vibrate and resonate as a unified instrument, much like the body of a fine violin. The result is a tonal richness, complexity, and sustain that is simply not achievable through conventional construction.The Model 200 is 6'7 in length — a size that Bösendorfer has described as one of our most popular models ever — large enough to fill a concert hall with authority, yet refined enough to sing with intimacy in a private room. Its bass register is legendary: each bass string is individually hand-wound in Vienna, with a steel core wrapped in layers of copper, producing the warm, sonorous low end that has made Bösendorfer the instrument of choice for the world's most demanding pianists.A 1911 Bösendorfer was built before the era of mass production touched even the finest instrument makers. Every component — the sand-cast iron frame left to rest for six months before installation, the open pinblock of cross-grained quarter-sawn maple, the independent Capo d'Astro bar in the upper register (a feature unique to Bösendorfer) — was fitted by hand, by craftsmen who spent their careers building nothing else. Today, Bösendorfer produces approximately 300 instruments per year worldwide, and only 50 to 60 reach the United States annually. A fully restored example from 1911 is, by any measure, an extraordinary rarity.The RestorationThis piano was restored in Europe, where the Bösendorfer tradition is best understood and the finest restoration expertise resides. A full restoration of an instrument of this caliber involves the complete rebuilding of the action, new strings and damper felts, refinishing of the cabinet, and meticulous regulation and voicing to bring the piano back to its full expressive potential. The result is an instrument that combines the tonal character of a 115-year-old Viennese grand — seasoned, complex, and deeply resonant — with the reliability and playability of a newly rebuilt piano.What a New Bösendorfer Model 200 Costs TodayA brand-new Bösendorfer Model 200 carries a current MSRP of $196,999. That figure reflects the extraordinary cost of building 300 instruments per year by hand in Vienna, using air-dried spruce that takes six years from forest to finished piano, with a workforce of master craftsmen whose skills have been passed down through generations.This fully restored 1911 example offers something a new piano cannot: a century of tonal maturation. The spruce in the soundboard and resonance case has been vibrating and settling for over a hundred years. The result is a depth of tone — a warmth in the midrange, a bloom in the bass, a clarity in the upper register — that a new instrument, however beautifully made, has not yet had the time to develop. Among serious pianists and collectors, a fully restored pre-war Bösendorfer is considered one of the finest playing experiences available at any price.The Lindeblad GuaranteeEvery piano we sell comes with our full Peace of Mind Guarantee: free delivery anywhere in the United States, a 20-year warranty, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a lifetime trade-in at full purchase price toward any future piano. We have been doing this since 1920, and we stand behind every instrument we place in a home. If you have questions about this piano's tone, touch, restoration history, or purchase options, Todd is available to speak with you directly.