Pleyel Workshop
Repair & Restoration
The passion for the right gesture, the rigorous choice of materials used, the most demanding manufacturing processes, the luxury of finishes, the use of the most precious woods and the deepest varnishes all contribute to perpetuating the sound identity of Pleyel pianos and the excellence of their craftsmanship.
Over time, and depending on how your piano is cared for, your instrument may need repair work or complete restoration. For over two centuries, every part of our pianos has been selected and assembled with the utmost care, in compliance with the highest manufacturing standards. During a restoration, this philosophy is respected, with each operation carried out by hand, in keeping with the traditional know-how that has made Pleyel's reputation for quality.
The Pleyel Restoration workshop boasts the very best in high-level instrument-making expertise.
If the quality of your piano allows you to keep it from generation to generation, it also deserves to benefit from the age-old expertise and excellent know-how of Pleyel craftsmen when it comes to restoration.
The Pleyel workshop is at your disposal to take care of your instrument in a tradition rich in two centuries of instrument making, from wind ensemble to cabinet making:
- - The soundboard assembly: flipotage and varnishing of the soundboard, gilding of the frame, change of windchest, replacement of bridge soles, re-gluing of soundboard bars, revision of the load, calculation of string plans, reassembly of strings...
- The keyboard action: re-feathering or change of hammer heads, change of all keyboard trims, replacement and/or treatment of ivory keys and rebalancing of the keyboard. Last but not least, voicing is the ultimate stage in the restoration of your piano, restoring its tone and timbre, and allowing you to rediscover the pleasure of playing.
- Furniture: La Maison Pleyel employs the best cabinetmakers capable of treating all your piano's decorative ornaments (brass purfling, bronzes, sculpted moldings, friezes, etc.), markers, lacquerers, varnishers and finishers (pad varnish, wax) to restore your instrument to its full glory.
This restoration work restores the harmonic richness and optimal musical qualities of your instrument. They also bring reliability and strength to your piano, while respecting Pleyel specifications according to the era of its manufacture (pianino, model P, model F, model 3, model 3 bis or any other more recent model). The workshop is also able to restore pianos of the French brands Erard, Gaveau or Rameau.
When working on an old piano or an instrument of great historical value, the choice of the type of work carried out, the manner in which it is done and the materials used are crucial. That's why the Pleyel restoration workshop guarantees a restoration that respects strict ethical principles. The pillars we choose to follow are as follows:
- Reversibility: our interventions must be reversible, i.e. the modifications made must be able to be removed without damaging the integrity of the object.
- Legibility: our interventions must be visible and noticeable to restoration/conservation professionals. This is done while respecting the aesthetic unity of the object, and is not detectable without specialized equipment.
- Stability: it is vital that the work carried out on instruments treated in the workshop is stable over time.
- Compatibility: all materials used must be compatible with the original materials of which the instrument is made.
What's more, a complete and rigorous restoration file is drawn up for each job, together with an official certificate of authenticity issued exclusively by Pleyel.
Compliance with this code of ethics guarantees that your instrument will preserve its historic value, while regaining its original beauty and not altering its musical properties.
Our technicians and craftsmen are on hand to undertake the necessary work on your piano. All antique piano restorations entrusted to us come from France and Europe, and are carried out in the Pianos Pleyel restoration workshop in Nantes.
Contact
If your request concerns the restoration workshop or any question about an antique piano, please contact us at the following address: atelier@pleyel.com
For all other inquiries, please contact us at contact@pleyel.com or call +33 2 56 69 25 15.