HAUTRIVE
Grand piano, circa 1935
94 x 150 x 260 cm
Coll. MIM, inv. 1997.019
Purchase, 1997
The Hautrive piano manufacture was founded in Schaarbeek in 1887 by Edmond Hautrive (1850-1902). The company quickly achieved success and won high accolades at various exhibitions in which it participated. It experienced its peak in the years 1925-1935, when it produced between 150 and 200 instruments per year.
For the 1935 Brussels World's Fair, the first large concert grand piano, the 275 model, was designed in a very sleek Art-Deco style. The exceptional sound and touch were immediately praised. Such instruments were then delivered to the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and to the new building of the Belgian radio, located on Place Flagey (Studio IV of the NIR). The latter instrument was made available in 1938 to the candidates of the Eugène Ysaÿe competition - which was later renamed the Queen Elisabeth Competition.
