Robert Majkut Is Honored with the Golden A' Design Award for Whaletone Grand Hybrid Piano Musical Instrument in Musical Instruments Design

Robert Majkut honored for musical instruments design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Whaletone Grand Hybrid Piano Musical Instrument by Robert Majkut, designed for Whaletone LTD, has been granted the Golden A' Design Award in the Musical Instruments Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

About the Golden A' Design Award

The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.

More About Whaletone Grand Hybrid Piano Musical Instrument

Whaletone Grand Hybrid is a hybrid grand piano made for stage and home use. The instrument is a smaller version of the Royal model, so it needs less space and is easier to transport, while its acoustic qualities remain unchanged. The character, proportions and slender line of the larger model are retained. A new play mechanism joins a classical hammer action with digital sound technology, so the touch stays close to that of an acoustic piano. A Moving Keys function plays back recorded music with visible key movement.

About Robert Majkut

Whaletone Ltd. is a unique piano company headed by a world class designer Robert Majkut. Since ten years the company delivers hybrid grand pianos noted for their advanced aesthetic and technical design. WHALETONE (the piano) is the unleashed joy of playing and the free-spirited hand-made symbol of openness to your desires. Every detail of the instrument has been precisely crafted. Each WHALETONE is one-of-a-kind and reflects individual tastes and emotions related with it. It resembles a whale – the symbol of freedom and harmony with nature.

Award Record

With this recognition, Robert Majkut is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.

About the A' Musical Instruments Design Award

The A' Musical Instrument Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good musical instruments by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to musical instrument designers, industrial designers, music instrument producers and acoustic engineers from all countries. Typical entries include guitars, pianos, violins, drums, saxophones and flutes. The awarded musical instrument designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/musical-instrument

About A' Design Award & Competition

Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/150296
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/150296
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!150296
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/343857
Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.whaletone.com

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Whaletone Grand Hybrid Piano Musical Instrument
Function: Musical Instrument
Category: Musical Instruments Design
Discipline: Industrial Design
Industry: Arts and Entertainment
Colors: Black, Dark Slate Gray, Gray, Dim Gray and Dark Gray
Images: 5
Client: Whaletone LTD

The Recognition

Laureate: Robert Majkut
Country: Great Britain
Recognition: Golden A' Design Award
Edition: 2022 - 2023
Design ID: #150296

Credits

Image Credits: http://www.whaletone.com/site/about: Photographer Szymon Polanski, Whaletone Grand Piano, 2018. Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2jxK-9HQVg Szymański, Whaletone Grand Piano, 2015 Credits: Jacek Szymański

Design Details

Unique Properties: Whaletone Grand Hybrid is our latest model which brings a few important innovations. Whaletone Grand Hybrid is an answer to the needs of those for whom the Royal model was too exacting one due to its dimensions. Not losing a thing from the Royal model's character, proportions, slenderness and characteristic line, it is its smaller equivalent owing to which it needs much less space and it is easier to be transported while the best acoustic features are remained unchanged. However, apart from the smaller size, Whaletone Grand first of all offers completely new solutions in the play mechanics.
Inspiration: 'Monumental - like a whale emerging from the water, slow - like the movement of a giant. Charming, majestic, delicate and melodious, like the romantic calls of coquetting whales… I knew it called for being made. From that moment on, I have known that in the depths of our minds there are ready-made and complete good ideas. Concepts, forms, choices that are beyond our comprehension until we release them. This is one of them – WHALETONE – my version of a singing whale.' - Robert Majkut
Research: Whaletone Grand first of all offers completely new solutions in the play mechanics. Addressing musicians' needs, their sensitivity to the subtleness of the play elements, we have designed a completely new system which is meant to make the manner of playing the instrument even more similar to the one which is felt while playing acoustic instruments. A system which joins classical mechanics with all the digital possibilities indicates the direction in which Whaletone grand pianos develop.
Challenge: To develop the piano model of Whaletone Grand it was crucial to provide efficient research on the market in terms of digital components. New solutions in the play mechanics was a combination of digital system together with part of classical grand section. The research was very deep to define proper sound procesor that could guarantee the highest quality enriched still by so important for professional musicians natural sounding elements as smooth and natural sound which makes it even more real, speed and reaction to finger hit, smooth transfer among the levels of dynamics with no unnatural loops of samples. Moreover, the second aspects was all about perfect feel.
Realization and Technology: The model of a sound processor, a flagship model of Roland brand, with one of the best sound of the acoustic grand piano and a list of more than 500 various high quality sounds built-in. This is the musical heart of Whaletone. The processor generates an outstandingly authentic sound of a string grand piano which is rendered owing to the Super Natural Piano technology and is available in three types of sounds, i.e. Concert, Studio and Brilliant, and 30 selectable variations as well as 10 sounds of electric pianos in 15 variations, all of which are based upon the Super NATURAL technology too.
Operation and Interaction: Fully professional stage instrument is able to respond to many music-related challenges. Every detail of the instrument has been precisely created. Whaletone is for connoisseurs of taste for whom all the aspects of a thing must meet in one exquisite form. Whaletone is not only a gorgeous, modern shape but also, or first of all rather, a modern instrument whose heart is music. It is a perfect, full of sound grand piano which may face numerous musical challenges.
Project Duration and Location: The project started in August 2008 in Warsaw and finished in 2011 in London.
Specifications: Height (top opened/top closed) - 188/113 cm (74/44,5 in) Length - 300 cm (118,1 in) Width - 200 cm (79 in) Weigh - 350 kg (772 lb) Dimensions for transport / piano crate size: Height - 158 cm (62,2 in) Length - 346 cm (136,2 in) Weight (piano + crate) - 1100 kg (2425,08 lb)
Keywords: Piano, Whaletone the piano, hybrid piano, bespoke piano, musical instrument