One of Liberace’s pianos heads to auction
Liberace personally played to 25 million fans during his 40-year career and during this time he built up a mammoth collection of pianos. One of them, a Conover pompadour model, will be auctioned by Britannia Piano Auctions in Manchester on 12th September.
With a guide price of £10,000 to £15,000, the piano, recently restored by Forsyths of Manchester, is in cream and gilt and was used by the entertainer at his Las Vegas home. The lot also includes documentation of authenticity from The Liberace Foundation.
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In December 2012, The Mover reported that the same piano was transported from Cheshire to Conway Hall in London for auction by Piano Auctions Limited. Of it, Lance Green of G&R Removals commented:
“From a moving point of view, the piano luckily can be dismantled… Even so it weighs like a grand piano and was quite a challenge to move… Quite bizarrely it ended up less than ten miles from where we collected it from. It was bought by a Liberace fan in the Manchester area. He managed to secure the purchase ahead of the Chinese and French buyers who were very keen, but he was very determined! There’s just no accounting for taste is there?”
One of Liberace’s favourite sayings was: “I cried all the way to the bank”. Now, the seller of this piano will be able to do just the same.
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4 comments
Muizenberg is a beach-side suburb of Cape Town, with magnificent views of sandy beaches in the warm Indian Ocean. Muizenberg was a popular destination for 100 000’s of Jews from all over the world. Meiscke, my late father arranged a family holiday in the sea-side resort. The local newspapers at the time were still reporting on Professor Christian Barnard’s heart transplant surgery on a Cape Town Dentist Dr Philip Blaiberg at the Groote Schuur Hospital.
Liberace was commencing his South African tour at the Alhambra Theatre in Cape Town. The Alhambra Theatre was situated in Riebeeck Street Cape Town, and was South Africa’s first ever atmospheric Theatre, it had beautiful ceilings and very plush curtaining. the Royal Balcony was the best seats in the house, the theatre also boasted a suburb upper circle. Liberace gave a world class performance, what a showman, what a experience it was to see him perform live. Liberace will always have a special place in my heart, he brings back so many memories of the most happiest days of my life. May he rest in peace.
Behind the Candelabra does Liberace no justice, he was a articulate and assertive man. He knew his trade inside out. A man of all seasons. He was not a vulnerable freak, take my word for it.
Walter’s Grill in 166 Main Road Sea Point was the venue for visiting international celebrities such as Sandie Shaw, Françoise Hardy and several others. They were notorious for the being the best steakhouse in Cape Town. Standards were a lot higher in days gone by.
Garner Thompson, a writer for a Cape Town newspaper, wrote, “Liberace, he knows that you know that he knows, he’s the greatest showman of them all.” (hinting that everybody knew he was gay but then saying something else, for those that need an explanation)