by Tony Magee
SEEING this photo today in Robert Macklin's article Morrison might have done republicans a big favour (Canberra City News (on-line edition), I wondered, what piano is that? My research reveals it's by the great French piano maker Sébastien Érard, but made in their London factory in 1856 for Queen Victoria. I've added another photo showing just the piano only. City News photo is from 1957.
See and hear this piano being played by British born pianist Stephen Hough in a short encore performance of Chopin's "Nocturne in E flat major" at the 2019 BBC Proms here. Hough became an Australian citizen in 2005.
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Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Princess Anne and Prince Charles in the Queen's Gallery, October 1957, with the Erard piano, originally manufactured in 1856 for Queen Victoria. Photo: Collection Library and Archives Canada |
The piano is constructed using gilded painted and varnished mahogany, satinwood and pine, with brass and gilt bronze mounts. Three incurving cabriole legs with intricate carvings support the case.
The instrument is decorated in an early eighteenth-century French style. It features comical depictions of monkeys and cherubs playing musical instruments. These paintings are by François Rochard a French miniature painter. He used polychrome colours to provide a visually powerful impression. Parts of the case are taken from an earlier instrument owned by Queen Victoria. She so liked the imagery that she wanted it transferred to her new piano.
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| The 1856 S&P Erard Grand Piano in the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Photo: The Royal Collection |
The 1856 Erard grand piano has the serial number 3985 and is inscribed ERARD P. ERARD fecit and F. ROCHARD PINXIT. It measures 244 cm in length. Modern day concert grands by say, Yamaha, Steinway, Bechstein, Petrof and most other manufacturers are usually 275 cm (9 feet) and are often just referred to as "9 footers".
One exception in modern day piano design is the Bösendorfer Imperial which measures 290 cm in length and has 97 keys instead of the usual 88. It is the largest modern concert grand currently produced in the world.
IN another piece of Royal piano news just in, one of only two ever constructed, original and enormous Challen grand pianos has just been restored as of September 2022.
One exception in modern day piano design is the Bösendorfer Imperial which measures 290 cm in length and has 97 keys instead of the usual 88. It is the largest modern concert grand currently produced in the world.
IN another piece of Royal piano news just in, one of only two ever constructed, original and enormous Challen grand pianos has just been restored as of September 2022.
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| The Challen Giant before it was restored – it then had a gloss white finish. Photo courtesy Andrew Giller |
In 1934 the directors of Challen, a leading British piano manufacturer, decided they wanted to do something special to mark the 1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V. They hit upon the idea of building the world’s largest piano.
Challen actually built two of these pianos, both 356 cm (11ft 8in) long.
They were, of course, painted silver—as it was a silver jubilee. The first piano went on show that year at the British Industries Fair in London. It received much attention and was greatly praised.
After the Fair, the piano went on display around the UK and became known as the “Challen Giant”.
However, in 1959 the piano disappeared. There’s talk of it being left outside after a garden party in Manchester (UK) and it sinking into the ground (its weight was 1,270 kg). References to this are somewhat ambiguous, but it was never seen in public again.
The second piano (serial no. 56155) only surfaced when it was exhibited at the 1952 British Industries Fair—gone was the silver, it now had a mottled gold finish. This piano became the new “largest piano in the world”, a fact confirmed for several decades by the Guinness Book of Records.
Following years of neglect, the piano was “rescued” by piano restorer Andrew Giller in 2020. Giller and his team arranged for the piano to be transported to their workshop in Beccles (near Norfolk, UK) and immediately set about restoring this unique instrument.
Restoration was completed in September 2022, and the Challen Giant has now been returned to its former glory. The team went to great lengths to ensure traditional techniques and components were used in the process. The exterior of the casework is back to the original 1935 silver finish, whilst the frame is painted in the 1952 mottled gold colour.
Challen actually built two of these pianos, both 356 cm (11ft 8in) long.
They were, of course, painted silver—as it was a silver jubilee. The first piano went on show that year at the British Industries Fair in London. It received much attention and was greatly praised.
After the Fair, the piano went on display around the UK and became known as the “Challen Giant”.
However, in 1959 the piano disappeared. There’s talk of it being left outside after a garden party in Manchester (UK) and it sinking into the ground (its weight was 1,270 kg). References to this are somewhat ambiguous, but it was never seen in public again.
The second piano (serial no. 56155) only surfaced when it was exhibited at the 1952 British Industries Fair—gone was the silver, it now had a mottled gold finish. This piano became the new “largest piano in the world”, a fact confirmed for several decades by the Guinness Book of Records.
Following years of neglect, the piano was “rescued” by piano restorer Andrew Giller in 2020. Giller and his team arranged for the piano to be transported to their workshop in Beccles (near Norfolk, UK) and immediately set about restoring this unique instrument.
Restoration was completed in September 2022, and the Challen Giant has now been returned to its former glory. The team went to great lengths to ensure traditional techniques and components were used in the process. The exterior of the casework is back to the original 1935 silver finish, whilst the frame is painted in the 1952 mottled gold colour.
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| The 11ft 8in (356cm) Challen grand piano — fully restored and finished in silver. Photo courtesy Andrew Giller |
The project took 18 months, and around 1000 hours of labour to complete.
My thanks to David Crombie's World Piano News, Wikipedia, Canberra City News, Bösendorfer.com and Vimeo.com for information and photos in helping create this article.
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