Kurt Cobain’s $6 million MTV Unplugged Martin D-18E finds a permanent home at London’s Royal College of Music
Kurt Cobain’s famed Martin D-18E, the guitar he played during Nirvana’s iconic MTV Unplugged performance and the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, has been donated to the Royal College of Music in London.
Widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant guitars in rock history, the rare electro-acoustic was modified for Cobain’s left-handed playing style. After his death, the instrument was inherited by his daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, who stored it in a Seattle vault. It later became part of a divorce settlement and was ultimately sold by Isaiah Silva.
READ MORE: The guitar influences of Kurt Cobain
In June 2020, the D-18E went under the hammer at Julien’s Auctions, fetching a staggering $6,010,000 (£4.51 million), a record-setting price that cemented its status as the world’s most expensive guitar.
The buyer, Peter Freedman AM – founder of RØDE Microphones and a founding supporter of the Royal College of Music’s Australia Commonwealth Scholarship Fund – has now donated the instrument to the conservatoire in memory of his father, Henry Freedman. The guitar will join the RCM Museum’s extraordinary collection, which includes what is believed to be the oldest surviving guitar in existence, made in 1581 in Lisbon by luthier Belchior Dias.
The Royal College of Music has also confirmed that Cobain’s D-18E will anchor a new international touring exhibition planned for 2026, following the success of Kurt Cobain: Unplugged, an in-house exhibition that drew more than 15,000 visitors.
“I am delighted to gift this iconic guitar to the Royal College of Music so that they might realise the guitar’s value and profile for the benefit of young musicians at the RCM and reach people around the world,” says Freedman. “This gift is dedicated to my father Henry who loved music and London, and it’s an honour for me to support the next generation of musicians.”
James Williams, Director of the Royal College of Music adds, “The Royal College of Music is deeply grateful to Peter Freedman for his incredible generosity in gifting the College Kurt Cobain’s Martin D-18E guitar.”
“This asset opens future opportunities to share the Kurt Cobain: Unplugged exhibition with an international audience; it is also emblematic of Peter’s unstinting support for the performing arts and his steadfast belief in the power of education to transform lives.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
