montblanc digital paper | smart writing

Who knew pianos and luxury cars had so much in common? Steinway & Sons and Bentley Motors, apparently. The two heritage houses have joined forces for a collaboration that celebrates precision, craftsmanship and design through the launch of Steinway’s ‘Ultra Black’ and ‘Ultra White’ limited editions.

Built in Hamburg, just fifty-two of these grand pianos will exist worldwide, evenly split between the two finishes. Each takes cues from both brands’ most recognisable signatures: Steinway’s timeless silhouettes and Bentley’s sleek monochrome palette. The Ultra Black, finished in a deep Jet Black that’s been a favourite in Bentley’s veneer catalogue, feels sculptural and commanding; its mirror image, the Ultra White, draws from the carmaker’s Arctic White, luminous and modern in tone.

“The Ultra Black and Ultra White editions embody Steinway’s ability to honour our heritage while exploring new expressions of design,” confirms Guido Zimmermann, President of Steinway & Sons Europe. “These pianos are not only instruments of the highest musical quality but also works of art, created for those who value craftsmanship, individuality, and timeless beauty.” 

It’s a statement Bentley could easily echo. And indeed, to mark the launch, the British marque unveiled a ‘Flying Spur Speed’ finished in Arctic White with a Piano Black veneer interior – a perfect mirror of Steinway’s monochrome duo. 
“Our collaboration with Steinway & Sons is a meeting of worlds, where craftsmanship connects music and motion. The Flying Spur Speed, paired with Steinway’s Ultra Black and Ultra White editions, represents a dialogue between two distinguished names, creating objects of rarity and enduring beauty,” says Wayne Bruce, Chief Communications and D&I Officer. 

Founded in 1853, Steinway & Sons remains the gold standard for concert pianists, its instruments painstakingly made by hand over the course of a year in just two factories located in Hamburg and New York. Bentley, meanwhile, has been crafting luxury cars in Crewe since 1919, evolving from W.O. Bentley’s original vision into a symbol of British engineering and design.

What makes this collaboration more than just a meeting of logos is the exchange of craft behind it. Steinway and Bentley artisans shared techniques in veneering, finishing and woodwork – a merging of two disciplines united by precision and touch. Both brands have built their legacies on that tension between handcraft and innovation: from Bentley’s meticulously engineered interiors to Steinway’s SPIRIO | r system, which can record and reproduce a live performance with astonishing fidelity.

Elegance shouldn’t be limited to concert halls or car showrooms and, together, the two brands prove that this is what happens when sound and speed share the same rhythm.

photography. courtesy of Steinway & Sons, Bentley Motors
words. Gennaro Costanzo

Bang & Olufsen has always treated technology like sculpture. Since 1925, the Danish house has designed sound as much for the eye as for the ear, with radios and speakers that became icons of modern living. Almost a century on, that philosophy is being distilled into its smallest form yet: Beo Grace, earbuds that double as both jewellery and innovation.

Positioned as a symbol of the brand’s next hundred years, Beo Grace reflects the qualities that have defined Bang & Olufsen since the beginning: aluminium craftsmanship, acoustic precision, and design that refuses to fade into the background. “Beo Grace is more than a new product, it is a symbol of the century ahead […]. With Beo Grace we are bringing our heritage of acoustic ingenuity into a form you can wear – a piece of design sculpture that ushers in a new era of wearable sound,” says CEO Kristian Teär.

The design looks back to the cult A8 earphones, carrying their distinctive metal stems into the wireless age. Each earpiece is carved from polished aluminium and paired with a seamless, pearl-blasted charging case that feels less like an accessory and more like a pocket-sized artefact. Cool to the touch, carefully finished, and unapologetically tactile, Beo Grace blurs the line between sound equipment and precious metalwork.

Optional extras heighten the ritual. A leather pouch, offered in Infinite Black, Cranberry Red, or Seashell Grey, is styled like a miniature handbag – strap, clasp, and all. Inside the earbuds, a 12mm titanium driver tuned by Bang & Olufsen’s tonmeisters anchors the sound with clarity and balance. Add Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos optimisation, and a regular playlist turns cinematic.

The listening experience adapts in real time. Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation adjusts itself to your surroundings, while new EarSense technology tailors sound to the unique shape of your ear. Transparency mode offers the reverse: an almost uncanny recreation of your environment that makes it easy to forget you’re wearing earbuds at all. Calls aren’t left behind either, with a three-microphone array in each earpiece ensuring voices come through cleanly, even against wind and traffic.

Controls are deliberately physical. Instead of fiddly swipes, Beo Grace introduces NearTap™, a gesture-based way to adjust volume, while the aluminium stems provide a reassuring click with every press. The battery delivers up to 17 hours with the case, and just five minutes of charging powers two and a half hours of playback.

Behind the scenes is Bang & Olufsen’s Amadeus Platform™, a software system that evolves through updates, meaning the earbuds can adapt to new features and improvements over time. Longevity is also a priority: in partnership with battery intelligence company Breathe, Beo Grace has been tested to withstand over 2,000 charge cycles.

Nearly 100 years after Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen built their first products in Struer, Denmark, the company is still finding unexpected ways to shape how we listen.

Beo Grace launches on 17 November in Natural Aluminium with pre-orders available now at bang-olufsen.com and Bang & Olufsen stores.

photography. courtesy of Bang & Olufsen 
words. Gennaro Costanzo

In Anyma‘s world, the dance floor becomes a living story. The Italian electronic artist, Matteo Milleri, has been revolutionising the techno scene for over 15 years by merging spectacle and storytelling with technology. His immersive live experiences have trailblazed a new dimension in the nightlife landscape through cinematic performances that guide revellers into a mythical space of soaring visuals, awe-inspiring locations and colossal stages, including Sphere in Las Vegas, making him the first DJ to headline the venue. 

Anyma first made his mark as one half of the duo Tale of Us, manifesting his vision through their epochal event series Afterlife. Simultaneously, he has cultivated an avant-garde niche defined by audiovisual experimentation using sound and AI. Now, the visionary is unveiling his Quantum era. If past chapters pushed the limits, Quantum shatters them and propels nightlife into realms unimagined. The live concept is a futuristic evolution of Anyma’s odyssey where theatrics, digital creatures and ethereal melodies collide.

And where better to reveal this new horizon than in a space engineered to expand the very boundaries of night culture? [UNVRS] Ibiza, the world’s first hyperclub, hosted Quantum this summer. Anyma’s eight-week long residency featured special guest appearances from the the likes of Travis Scott, Adriatique, Solomun and Amelie Lens. In an interview with Schön!, Anyma reflects on the experience and delves deep into the Quantum ethos. 

Congratulations on your Ibiza residency at [UNVRS]. How does it feel to bring your world to life in a venue that’s pushing the boundaries of nightlife?

Thank you. It’s pretty surreal. Ibiza has been a very special place throughout my life and career. Going into [UNVRS] allowed me to create something closer to the experience I’d always imagined. [It] felt like a natural extension of the world we’ve been building through music, visuals, and technology. 

How does a space like [UNVRS] allow you to fully express your creative vision?

[UNVRS] gives me the freedom to dissolve the line between reality and the digital realm. It’s a space built for transformation visually, sonically, and emotionally. Their technology allowed me to bring the show to life with the idea of a collective experience where the audience becomes part of the Quantum system, part of the story. Opening the shutters at sunrise every Tuesday was a personal highlight for me.

In your eyes, what does a futuristic venue like [UNVRS] indicate for the evolution of live music?

A venue like [UNVRS] signals a continued shift in how we experience music. I see it as the next step in the evolution of live music, a less linear experience, far more immersive.

You’ve launched your new era, Quantum, through this residency, what does it represent for you and how is it manifesting within these shows?

Quantum was a concept that I premiered at Sphere Las Vegas as the next chapter after the Genesys concept. Hence, why the show was called “The End Of Genesys.” This new Quantum idea is derived from quantum computing and breakthroughs in AI which I find deeply inspirational. Quantum is not just a show–it’s the evolution of the world I’ve been building. 

How would you describe the dimension you’re inviting people into when they experience Quantum for the first time?

When people experience Quantum for the first time, I want them to reimagine humanity and reality. More than anything, Quantum suggests a blend, an alliance, between the digital and the physical. Together with the audiovisual experience of this show, we are inviting the audience to experience a fractured perception of an alternative future reality.

The visual avatars in your shows have become part of your performance identity. What role do they play in the storytelling?

In the live show, they’re not just visual effects. They’re characters in an unfolding narrative that continues to evolve with each show and each body of music and art. By externalising these characters, we invite the audience not just as spectators, but as participants in the narrative.

How do you see AI-generated visuals shaping the trajectory of immersive shows and the live music experience?

In live music and story building, AI is efficient for creative manifestation and quickly moves ideas from concept to execution. As a tool, it can enhance the speed at which stories are visualised, but ultimately, an artist’s imagination and storytelling will remain the driving force. Nothing can replicate that.

You embody the intersection of music, art and technology, where do you find inspiration for the visual realm you’re building?

The visual realm I’ve been building is inspired by the tension between nature and technology. I am fascinated by the relationship that exists between these entities and I draw inspiration from science fiction, architecture, art, and nature. Collaborating with visual artists and machine intelligence allows our ideas to manifest in ways that feel alive, even sentient. The goal isn’t just to create something intriguing and beautiful, but an alternative reality that reflects our collective questions about what it means to be human in a post-human world.