Kurt Cobain’s D-18E, the world’s most expensive guitar, donated to Royal College of Music in London
Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain‘s famous D-18E, the world’s most expensive guitar in history, has kindly been donated to the Royal College of Music in London.
Cobain used the iconic guitar when Nirvana delivered their legendary MTV Unplugged set in 1993, just six months before he tragically died.
In 2020, Peter Freedman, the founder and chairman of RØDE Microphones, purchased the instrument for over $6 million, which set a new record for the most expensive guitar in history.
Now, Freedman, who is also a founding supporter of the Royal College of Music’s Australia Commonwealth Scholarship Fund, has donated the item to the Royal College of Music.
Plans are currently underway for the item to be part of a new touring exhibition, which the Royal College of Music are hoping will start in 2026.
Freedman said of the donation: “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. 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, said of the generous gift, “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.”
Williams continued, “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.”
Prior to Freedman purchasing the guitar in 2020, it was in the possession of Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. However, in 2018, it was awarded to her ex-husband, Isaiah Silva, in their divorce settlement, before being sold at Julien’s Auctions two years later.
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