About the name
Name. "Piano" — a metaphor for piano and music: nostalgic, "classical" — an association with classical music and the peony-like form typical of the nineteenth century. Tantau chose a marketing strategy of "classical / musical / artistic" for the Topcut series. It started the Piano-family — Charming Piano (pink), Wedding Piano (white), Royal Piano (burgundy), Pink Piano and others — the line grew to around ten colours.
Breeding. Bred by Christian Evers at Rosen Tantau (Uetersen, Germany) — one of the largest European rose houses. Code TAN01360. Breeding 2001, introduction 2007. Parentage: 'RT 98-097' × 'Mein München' (both parents are in-house Tantau-seedlings). A common myth: it is sometimes attributed to Schmitz-Hübsch — this is wrong; the true breeder is Christian Evers for Tantau.
Significance. One of the most popular cut red roses in Europe — the basis of the Topcut Tantau series, which positions the variety as both a garden rose and a cut rose. It started the whole Piano family: dozens of colour variations for different wedding and floristry themes. 80–100 petals — a rare level of doubleness among modern red roses; resembles a peony. The nostalgic form is part of the "old rose look" trend among modern breeders. ADR-tested; a public ADR certificate is not confirmed, but 15+ years of commercial success confirm its value.