THE LAST PIANO MAKER IN AUSTRALIA JUST MADE HISTORY

Australia’s last remaining piano maker has decided to expand the instrument into a world first: it has 108 keys.

Completed in September 2018 by Stuart & Sons in their workshops in New South Wales, this nine octave phenomenon achieved frequencies hitherto uncharted in the world of acoustic pianos.

From a modest four octaves at the very beginning of the 18th century, pianos developed to have a standard 88 keys (just over seven octaves) since 1880.