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"Jamie
Cullum's thoughts on Cavendish..."
There is a tradition of piano making in Britain which stretches back over 200 years. Many of history's greatest composers owned and played British pianos; Chopin, Liszt, J.C. Bach among many others. In "The golden age of piano making" Britain boasted 360 piano makers at the turn of the century which supplied the entire globe. Sadly, this great industry has now all but disappeared from our shores. Notably in April 2003 The British Piano Manufacturing Co. and in October 2009 Kemble Pianos closed their gates for the last time.
Award winning Cavendish Pianos, based in
Yorkshire, are resurrecting the lost art of piano making in Britain
through the creation of a Craftsman's Co-operative. Piano Builders,
Action specialists, Stringers, Cabinet-makers, Polishers, and
PianoTuners all exist in this country.
Through the Craftsman's Co-operative these skills have been pooled
together to create a single finished product. Thus, rather than being
produced in one factory, Cavendish Pianos are made by a series of
small businesses each with their own speciality. This promotes a
higher degree of efficiency, less waste and more integrity and pride
in each individual aspect of the piano's make-up.
Craftsmanship-based small businesses in the UK are often finding
themselves marginalized by mass-produced imported goods. Cavendish
Pianos supports home-grown business and believes such firms can be
competitive, have a part to play and a real future.
Many components also continue to be made in this country. British
felts and cloths are widely regarded as the worlds finest.
String-makers still exist who have learned the specialized skill of
hand winding piano strings have practised all their lives. British
oak, ash and walnut is used for components and cabinets. A high
grade hammer and British made strings and design give Cavendish Pianos
their distinctive classic, European tone. This is a far cry from the
harsh Japanese tone of many mass-produced pianos. In many ways taste
in tone has gone full circle as we see a tendency for people to prefer
a more mellow, sweeter, traditional sound.
Our patrons, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire (Cavendish) have a long illustrious history as patrons of the arts, and music in particular.
The building of Cavendish Pianos takes place on the beautiful Bolton Abbey Estate.
We are indebted to them for their continued support.
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