The world of acoustic grand and upright pianos has always been described as conservative and monotonous. PETROF counters this stereotype in cooperation with the brothers Karel and MAXIM Havlíček. Together, they created a unique work of art that connects completely different worlds in one instrument, PETROF GEMINI.
PETROF GEMINI is a high-end instrument, a work of art, and a spectacular interior design element. Through hammers and strings, romantic tones fly out of it. The sound can also be transformed into digital form, thanks to the built-in adsilent system. PETROF Gemini can be both loud and completely silent by plugging in the headphones.
Thanks to the painting on the back, the piano can stand independently in the middle of a room. If you decide to put the instrument against the wall, the painting can be easily removed and hung on the wall.
The craftsmanship of these two artists is reflected in all aspects of PETROF GEMINI, starting in production, through painting, to the moment when the pianist's fingers touch the keys for the first time.
This brings together the world of music, craft, design, and painting. The painter MAXIM has been known around the world for many years. His large-format abstract canvases, in combination with the manufacturer of high-end grand and upright pianos, PETROF, created a spectacular symbiosis which is what every lover of culture and beauty dreams of.
KAREL HAVLÍČEK is a Czech composer and multi-instrumentalist whose work consists of music for foreign films, series, commercials, and television jingles. Karel is not only at the absolute top of the Czech music market but also works in Los Angeles with Hollywood stars. He has released two solo albums. This year, he plans concerts with a live orchestra with his album SPOKEN (2021), which is dominated by piano.
Although born in Prague, MAXIM spends most of his adult life in Los Angeles, USA. Despite the thousands of miles that separate the brothers, they are constantly creating new art projects, where they creatively combine music with painting, live performances with artistic openings, and share their talents across genres. Correspondingly, they give way to the natural intermingling of two different worlds, in which they constantly meet and part.
Piano manufacturing is, by its nature, a materials-intensive craft. A modern grand piano contains roughly 12,000 individual components. It requires carefully selected hardwoods — spruce, maple, beech, walnut — sourced from forests in multiple countries. It uses felt, leather, metal alloys, and chemical finishes. Building one well takes skilled labor spanning months.
In January 2026, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas included something that would have seemed out of place a decade ago: a piano technology exhibit generating genuine buzz alongside the televisions, smartphones, and AI gadgets that dominate the show floor. The products on display — connected instruments, app-integrated learning systems, multi-device MIDI setups — weren't novelties. They were the direction the piano industry is heading.
For years, the piano world operated on a fairly clean division: acoustic instruments for those who could afford the space and maintenance, digital pianos for everyone else. That division has been eroding steadily, and by 2026, it has given way to something more interesting — a category of instruments that refuses to sit neatly on either side of the line.
