Gustav Holst's piano up for adoption

The fee for adopting Gustav Holst's piano is £3,000 for the year

The piano which Gustav Holst used to compose his orchestral suite, The Planets, has been put up for adoption.

The Holst Victorian House in Cheltenham has launched an "adopt an object" scheme to try and raise "vital funds" for the birthplace of the composer.

Along with Holst's piano, potential adopters can also take on his family gramophone, portraits and autographed manuscripts for a year.

Martin Renshaw, from the Holst Birthplace Trust, said they are hoping to raise £25,000 for the museum and have already had a couple of adoptions since launching the scheme last week.

The museum has put up 15 objects for adoption, including portraits, in a bid to raise funds

Holst was born in the modest terraced house in Cheltenham in 1874 and lived there until his mother's death in 1882.

His former home was opened as a museum in 1975, and attracts around 4,500 visitors a year.

But Sabine Orton, from the museum, said the volunteer-run attraction "needs a lot of work doing to it".

"An 1830s house needs a lot of maintenance so we're constantly looking for new ways to raise money for the museum," she said.

"We're stable but we're looking to secure the next 50 years."

In a bid to raise funds and mark its 50th anniversary, the museum has put up 15 objects from the museum for adoption.

Martin Renshaw, from the Holst Birthplace Trust, said the fee for adopting Holst's piano would be £3,000 for the year.

"This is the jewel in the crown," he said.

"It's a beautiful piano, it's a composer's piano - it's quite a light piano because Gustav Holst had weakness in his hand that meant he needed a lighter piano."

Gustav's handwritten score of The Perfect Fool, which was "almost booed - off stage", is also up for adoption

Along with the piano, the museum is also offering the Manuscript of The Perfect Fool Ballet Music for adoption.

Laura Kinnear, the museum's curator, said it is an "amazing score" and one of the museum's "most significant manuscripts".

"[It's] a handwritten score by Holst himself which is quite rare, because he had a problem with his hands and he got people to copy his scores," she said.

"This was his first major piece after The Planets but it wasn't as successful.

"In fact, people almost booed it off stage when it was premiered in Covent Garden and the opera itself was never ever performed again."

Along with a certificate, adoption fees also include an acknowledgement and membership of the Friends of Holst Victorian House.