Sébastien Erard and the firm that carried his name are seminal in the history of musical instruments. Erard's inventions - especially the double escapement for the piano and the double-action for the harp - have had an enormous impact on instruments and musical life and are still at the foundation of piano and harp building today. The recently discovered archives of the Erard piano and harp building firm are perhaps the largest and most complete record of musical instrument making anywhere, containing never-before-published correspondence from musicians including Mendelssohn, Liszt and Fauré. These volumes present the archive's records and documents in two parts, the first relating to inventions, business, composers and performers and the second to the Erard family correspondence. In both the original French and with English translations, the documents offer fascinating insights into the musical landscape of Europe from the start of Erard's career in 1785 to the closure of the firm in 1959.
http://www.cambridge.org/ve/academic/subjects/music/nineteenth-century-music/history-erard-piano-and-harp-letters-and-documents-17851959
In this exhibition, visitors are able to see and hear many extraordinary pianos, harpsichords, clavichords and organs recently acquired by the Musée du Palais Lascaris, originating from the Gaveau-Erard-Pleyel archives, the collection of the Association Ad Libitum (on permanent loan to the museum), and several recent donations. Other instruments from the museum’s permanent collection and on loan from private collections complete the presentation. Among the highlights of the exhibition are the harpsichord by Jean-Marie Dedeban (Paris, 1770, formerly belonging to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington) and the piano en forme de clavecin by Erard (Paris, c. 1795), the oldest known instrument of this kind in playable state. Pianos by Walter, Schätzel, Pleyel, Boisselot and Bechstein will be featured in a series of concerts, and the exhibition will close with the first concert on the rare harpsichord by Claude Labrèche (Carpentras, 1699) following its meticulous restoration.
The Musée du Palais Lascaris houses France's second most important collection of historical musical instruments. Exhibitions are currently underway in the magnificent baroque Palais Lascaris in the old town as well as the modern Conservatoire de Nice in the Cimiez district. The museum presents monthly concerts on instruments from the collection. For more information, please visit: http://www.palais-lascaris-nice.org/.
The Musée du Palais Lascaris in Nice, France is pleased to present a major new temporary exhibition "Erard and the invention of the modern harp, 1811-2011" which will run from 12 May until 17 October 2011. The exhibition celebrates the bicentennial of Sébastien Erard's invention of the double-action harp, and promises to be the most ambitious Erard event in history. In addition to harps from the museum's collection and from the Erard archives recently deposited by the Axa insurance group, there will be harps on loan from the Museo dell'arpa Victor Salvi (Piasco, Italy), the Institut de France, and several private collections. Several harps that have never before been exhibited are presented, including two prototype harps by Erard (his very first harp, c. 1786 and his first experiment with a double-action harp, c. 1801) and the fourteen-pedal harp made by Cousineau in 1782. A number of concerts and lectures will be given, both in the museum, in nearby churches, and at the Conservatoire de Nice.
To download the catalogue of this exhibition, click here.
The Musée du Palais Lascaris houses France's second most important collection of historical musical instruments. Exhibitions are currently underway in the magnificent baroque Palais Lascaris in the old town as well as the modern Conservatoire de Nice in the Cimiez district. The museum presents monthly concerts on instruments from the collection. For more information, please visit: http://www.palais-lascaris-nice.org/.