Gaveau of Paris was a French

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

manufacturer. The company was established by Joseph Gabriel Gaveau in 1847 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and was one of the three largest piano makers in France (after Érard and

Pleyel Ignace Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian-born French composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period. Life Early years He was born in in Lower Austria, the son of a schoolmaster named Ma ...

). Its factory was located at

Fontenay-sous-Bois Fontenay-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Name The name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as ''Fontanetum'', meaning "the springs", from Medieval Latin ''fontana'' ...

. Some Gaveau pianos were constructed with art cabinets. Many pianos have been equipped with

pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A central ...

systems (Odeola,

Ampico American Piano Company (Ampico) was an American piano manufacturer formed in 1908 through the merger of Wm. Knabe & Co., Chickering & Sons, and Foster-Armstrong. They later purchased the Mason & Hamlin piano company as their flagship piano. The ...

and Welte). In 1960, Gaveau merged with Érard. From 1971 to 1994 Gaveau pianos were made by pianoforte manufacturing company

Wilhelm Schimmel Schimmel is a German piano maker with factories in Braunschweig, Germany and Kalisz, Poland. Their product line has been described as "the most highly awarded German piano". The company was founded 1885 by Wilhelm Schimmel in Leipzig, Germany. ...

. The brand is currently owned by Manufacture Française de Pianos, the same company that owns the Pleyel and Erard brands. Today, Manufacture Française de Pianos manufactures certain models under the Gaveau name.

Family competition

Joseph Gabriel Gaveau had six children, and Étienne Gaveau received competition from his brothers. Gabriel Gaveau was established in 1911. Gabriel Gaveau made some pianos with pedal or Duo-Art systems, and was located in 1919, 55-57 Av. Malakoff, 75016. (This part is now Av. Raymond Poincaré, near the

Trocadéro The Trocadéro (), site of the Palais de Chaillot, is an area of Paris, France, in the 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. It is also the name of the 1878 palace which was demolished in 1937 to make way for the Palais ...

.) This plant was requisitioned by the Germans in 1939. Also in 1911, Augustin Gaveau created his own piano company with his own style of upright pianos. Histoire Famille Gaveau(French)
/ref> In his autobiography ''My Young Years'',

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

recounts how he was contracted to play Gaveau pianos in concert. He writes of their "stiff unresponsive action" and "coldness of tone". Artists such as

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

and

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poeti ...

enjoyed playing their Gaveau, interpreting composers including Chopin,

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

and

Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

Salle Gaveau

A large building, including the manufacturer's headquarters and a 1,020-seat concert hall named Salle Gaveau, was built for Gaveau by the architect

Jacques Hermant __NOTOC__ Jacques-René Hermant (7 May 1855 in Paris, France – 5 June 1930 in France) was a French architect, one of the most renowned architects of fin-de-siècle Paris. Born in Paris, the son of the architect Achille Hermant (1823-1903) ...

in 1906.Simeone, Nigel (2000).
Paris: A Musical Gazetteer
'. New Haven: Yale University Press. . p. 189. The concert hall, located at 45, Rue la Boétie in the 8th arrondissement, is active with classical and jazz music. The Salle Rostropovitch is a smaller hall or reception room that can accommodate about 250 people seated or 800 standing.

References

External links

Salle Gaveau site
{{Authority control Musical instrument manufacturing companies based in Paris Piano manufacturing companies Companies established in 1847 1847 establishments in France