CONCERT GRAND ACOUSTIC PIANO 

SR1928 - THE AWAKENING

SJUMAN+RENANDA PIANO

Design             : Raul Renanda

Sound              : Aksan Sjuman

Craftsmanship : Saniharto

Raul Renanda is an Architect and Abstract Painter, and most of his works are always inspired by sailboat. The majesty and sense of movement from sails appears from the design of this concert grand piano. Since he loves to play the piano that he learns by himself,  when he was designing a hotel and luxury houses, some of his clients asked him to put a grand piano in their lobby. Having many times purchasing grand pianos for his client's interior, Raul begins to think why the architecture is moving towards modernity in every decade, but why the design of the grand piano is still the same for more than a century? 

While he also admires the classic look of a grand piano and its 'contradiction' between modern architecture and classical piece of a grand piano, he feels that there is a need for a 'coherent' design for contemporary design in architecture with the design for a grand piano.

"The amazing thing about a grand piano, it is not only it's the power to create a beautiful piece of music or a great composer tools, but it has the magical sculptural that gives the soul to the space around it." 

The challenge is to represent the new and the old shape. "people want something new, but must still have an attachment with the classic look of a grand piano that they used to." 

Designing within this constraint proves to be challenging "some of the grand pianos with modern design have to deal with the same challenges, some of it it's too modern that unrecognizable as a grand piano, the other still too near with classical shape. "I am not declaring, voila, this is the one, but within my personal judgment, somehow, I am delighted with the result." 

Raul believes each designer must have a clear objective of what they want to achieve. Based on his experience as an abstract painter, he thinks that it is essential to have a decision of what is good or not, or even whether the perfect timing of when the painting is considered done: nothing to eliminate, and nothing to add. The painter must be very clear about his or her final decision. Otherwise, the viewer might also confuse with the result. 

It is not all about just being different from the classical shape of a grand piano, Raul Renanda also addresses some elements that he things bothered him as a piano lover. "I want to eliminate the walls on each side of the piano keys, I remember watching Dave Grusin plays acoustic piano, and I sat damn near him, but the side of the grand piano covered his finger playing the key, I very frustrated, I want to see his fingers!" So in the design process, the first thing he did was to eliminate the sidewall next to the keyboards.

The other key element is the holes on the front of the keyboard. "before I have a grand piano, I used to play the upright piano, but not happy with the sound it produced, so I open the front part of the piano, so it will have more direct sound to my ear, and I love to see the mechanical parts moving to hit the strings." Unlike other typical design grand piano, The SR1928 The Awakening - the name of this piano series - has holes in front of the keyboard. It allows some of the air from the piano action goes out to the player's ear, allowing the sound and mechanical works felt by the player. 

It is not all about just being different from the classical shape of a grand piano, Raul Renanda also addresses some elements that he things bothered him as a piano lover. "I want to eliminate the walls on each side of the piano keys, I remember watching Dave Grusin plays acoustic piano, and I sat damn near him, but the side of the grand piano covered his finger playing the key, I very frustrated, I want to see his fingers!" So in the design process, the first thing he did was to eliminate the sidewall next to the keyboards.

The other key element is the holes on the front of the keyboard. "before I have a grand piano, I used to play the upright piano, but not happy with the sound it produced, so I open the front part of the piano, so it will have more direct sound to my ear, and I love to see the mechanical parts moving to hit the strings." Unlike other typical design grand piano, The SR1928 The Awakening - the name of this piano series - has holes in front of the keyboard. It allows some of the air from the piano action goes out to the player's ear, allowing the sound and mechanical works felt by the player. 

The piano has two 'design mode,' the first one with what Raul's called as wings are created a sense of enclosed, intimate feeling while playing for personal time. On the other venue, such a concert play for the audience, these 'wings' can be detached and put on the base next to the piano to become a sculpture. This 'performance mode' is the shape that has a clear view of the player's finger as Raul intended.

Partnering with Aksan Sjuman, a well-known Indonesian musician, film score composer, and musical instruments artisan, both of them work together continuously for more than two years they finish their first work. 

In the beginning, Raul has the grand piano concept and needs someone who understands how to build the piano. Aksan, for years, created acoustic and electric guitar using some rare and exotic Indonesian wood and sell very well all over the world. He also an apprentice for making a grand piano from senior piano artisans from Hamburg. 

Studied in Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Aksan begins his career as a drummer in some of the best Indonesian group band and often have an individual show as a jazz drummer, before he is focusing in film scoring that won many awards. He is a natural engineer, which mean he doesn't have any formal study in engineering but a personal learner and ability to tinkering some parts, especially musical instrument. 

This 'hobbies' lead to a professionally made guitar that makes him have a better understanding of how wood effects better sound in acoustic musical instruments. He experimented in many kinds of wood and process, including bamboo as acoustic guitar sound production.

In a grand piano, he starts learning from the basic tuning, regulating and voicing the piano action up to setting the piano to the player's request. With guidance from master piano maker from Germany and Korea in making the piano, he begins to produce his own grand piano. Mostly for his music school and later grows for some professional piano player that has the comfort piano setting directly from the builder itself, Aksan. It's like having a personal luxury item fitted just for each client's taste.

From the beginning, Raul wants to create the best piano ever made by disregarding the cost and later the price level. It is a business for those asking the best only, both in the quality and buying experience. "Design is a matter of taste, great design is polarising, creates emotion, whether people like it or not is up to them, but none of them will tell it is a bad product. The least bad comment that I will have is, I don't like this product, but this is a good product. "Maybe it's like my judgment of some luxury sports cars; they all a great piece of engineering, but most of them, I don't like the design at all, there are only two brands that the design suit my taste."

While the eyes will be the beholder of the beauty, everyone might agree that by the end of it, the piano must deliver a great sound, particularly on the higher side of the price offer. "I acknowledge the sound of each musical instrument is unique to what the creator's intended, different materials will produce a different sound; it doesn't mean it is better or not, it just, well, different. 

The ability to produce an excellent sound performance on this grand piano must at least equal in quality with the top professional level grand piano in the world," Aksan explained. So they use only the best piano component in the world for two reasons; to have the best aftersale support for parts maintenance and the quality of the parts. Also, to eliminate the unfamiliarity that some players might not feel 'at home' with the sound when they used to from other piano makers.

Design by Raul Renanda

Saniharto's expertise in wood making shown in their production quality and Raul insists on mixing between high manufacture technology and hand made detailing. The imperfection gives added value in the current industrial world, where the product is created in masses, fast, and exact make the design object soulless and have the 'commodity' value. 

Macassar Ebony applied in standard design with classic piano black gloss gives the traditional luxury feel on this modern design. There will be several Indonesian kinds of wood to explore in future production.

The luxury product is not only about the object only as many good products are offered in the market, and the standard of quality rises every decade thanks to good workmanship education and machinery. There is two main focus to deliver an excellent luxury product, personal experience, and bespoke design. Every piano from Sjuman+Renanda will be 'fitted' to the player's requirements. 

Those are the commitment of Sjuman+Renanda pianos. While this is their first 'small step' in producing the world's best grand piano, it is a big leap in the realization in both Aksan Sjuman and Raul Renanda's dream.

Instrument Specification :

System Length : 275 cm/9 foot

Body Length: 330 cm

Body Wide: 220 cm

Weight: Approximate 700 kg

Website : 

www.sjumanrenanda.com

www.saniharto.com

www.raulrenanda.com

Photography by Tompi and Wirawan Sanjaya

Press contact :

grandpiano@sjumanrenanda.com

Raul Renanda +62 811-9464-21

Aksan Sjuman +62 815-1130-5948