A prestigious piano with an exciting history !

Le piano Erard du château de Champs-sur-Marne

Discover the history of the Érard piano. This beautiful instrument is part of the collections at the Château de Champs-sur-Marne, but you can also hear its music at concerts held there !

A modern piano... from the 19th century at the Château de Champs-sur-Marne

Signed Maison Érard

Among other marvellous curiosities, the Château de Champs-sur-Marne has a grand piano by Érard on display in its music room. In the early 19th century, Érard developed "double escapement" pianos, the forerunners of modern grand pianos. These enabled artists like Franz Liszt to compose more virtuosic pieces.

For a long time, the history of this instrument remained a mystery. Today we can tell you only part of it, because there are still some grey areas !

In fact, each instrument of this quality has a serial number that reveals elements of its history. From the Érard registers we learn that this piano was ordered by Mr Camondo, and manufactured from April 1875. It was then delivered to his mansion at 61 rue de Monceau (now demolished).

Le piano Erard dans le salon de musique du château
© SEC / Château de Champs-sur-Marne

A family story

This is the beginning of a family story that may help us to retrace the piano's journey from the Hôtel de Monceau to the music salon in Champs-sur-Marne !

Irène Cahen d'Anvers, eldest daughter of Louis and Louise Cahen d'Anvers, owners of the Château de Champs from 1895, married Moïse de Camondo in 1892. They had two children, Nissim and Béatrice. Moïse's cousin, Isaac de Camondo, was a famous art collector and occasional pianist.

This "Mr Camondo" was probably the person who commissioned the piano. A photograph of the instrument in a salon among works by the painter Degas seems to confirm this hypothesis ! It was around 1910 that Isaac moved into a flat on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, where the piano is photographed with his collections. On his death in 1911, this "Érard half-tail piano" was bequeathed to his cousin Moïse.

Le piano Erard chez Isaac de Camondo, à Paris, vers 1910
© Les Arts Décoratifs / Lieu de conservation : Paris, musée Nissim de Camondo

The mystery remains

Several leads

We don't know how the piano came to be in Champs. A photo shows it in 1914: did it come through Irène Cahen d'Anvers, Moïse's divorced wife ? Did Moïse sell it or give it to Louis Cahen d'Anvers, his former father-in-law ?

While this question remains unanswered for the time being, the fact remains that these new historical elements provide an important insight into this instrument, with its now prestigious provenance.