<P> Over the years, Steinway has produced a small number of special or limited editions of the D - 274 . The differences in these pianos can range from ornately carved bodywork to large changes in the colour scheme . Custom - built D - 274s have also been made; for example the "fully crystallized" D - 274s with over a million individually positioned Swarovski crystals covering each piano . </P> <P> The White House has a specially designed D - 274, which is normally placed in the largest room of the White House, the East Room . The 2002 White House Christmas card features this piano . </P> <P> The world's most expensive grand piano sold at auction is a specially designed D - 274 named Steinway Alma Tadema; it sold for $1.2 million in 1997 at Christie's in London, breaking Steinway's own 1997 price record of $390,000 . The D - 274 was built in 1883 - 87 and designed by Sir Lawrence Alma - Tadema . It is displayed at the art museum Clark Art Institute . In 2006, Steinway recreated an exacting replica of this piano . </P> <P> The D - 274 has featured in numerous recordings spanning a wide array of genres and the whole of the history of sound recording . The following list includes some relatively recent examples in a variety of mostly advanced formats, including classical, folk, blues, and new - age albums; one high - end audio test disc; and a celebrated fraud: </P>

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