{{Short description, French brand of toy piano, 1939 to 1970
Michelsonne Paris was a French brand of
toy piano
The toy piano, also known as the ''kinderklavier'' (child's keyboard), is a small piano-like musical instrument. Most modern toy pianos use round metal rods, as opposed to strings in a regular piano, to produce sound. The U.S. Library of Congress ...
manufactured from 1939 to 1970, and created by Victor Michel (1904–1983).
They were named "bell-tone pianos" on their publicity brochure. They became very rare to find. In 1970, a fire destroyed their factory a 7 rue Duvergier in Paris 75019 and the patents were sold to
Bontempi
Bontempi is an Italian musical instrument manufacturer, best known for manufacturing low-priced, plastic-cased chord organs: small keyboard instruments in which the sound is produced by air being forced over reeds by an electric fan.
Such ins ...
. Bontempi has continued building the same models for a 4-year-old audience. However, there are a few visual differences. They used black keys and a dark brown body layout.
There are several models:
* chromatic upright pianos with 13, 16, 20, 25, 30, 37 or 49 keys
* chromatic grand pianos with 25, 30, 37 or 49 keys
In France many toy-piano players use Michelsonne pianos because of their beautiful and inimitable sound. Players include
Pascal Comelade
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,
Yann Tiersen
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