Skip to content

The restoration
of the
Erard grand piano
is complete!

The Musical Instrument Fund provides ongoing support to more than 400 talented musicians by providing them with high-quality instruments that have been carefully selected and maintained. To ensure the quality of our collection, we restore instruments as needed and enlist the best experts for this work. For example, the team at Andriessen Pianos & Grand Pianos spent months restoring an Erard grand piano (Paris, 1858), bequeathed by a dedicated private individual. Has this extensive restoration also restored its original sound?

News
11 September 2024 by Indy de Vries

The home stretch

The grand piano’s action has been adjusted, and the hammer heads have been shaped and voiced. Andriessen Piano’s-Vleugels (Haarlem) has also taken care of the final touches, such as embellishing the soundboard and retuning the instrument for complete stability. The late-Romantic grand piano is now ready for its reunion with the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The conservatory has had the Erard on loan since 2018, and students and faculty have had access to this historic instrument. This restoration has breathed new life into the old grand piano, and we hope it will be a great source of inspiration for them in the years to come. But first, the grand piano will travel to Schiedam for a CD recording. You will receive more information about this shortly.

Your support makes a difference

This extensive restoration was only possible thanks to the support of our donors. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed to this project.

How does the grand piano sound now?

Via the YouTube channel of the Musical Instrument Fund, you could follow the restoration of the Erard up close thanks to piano expert Bart Houtgraaf. He kept us regularly updated on the process, during which we saw the instrument without its soundboard and learned how Andriessen Piano's-Vleugels used as much original material as possible for the restoration. In the most recent video, we see the final result and hear the beautiful sound of the Erard. We’ve been eagerly looking forward to that!