Every restoration is carried out with a specific aim in mind: to restore the piano’s unique character, its touch and its tone, whilst preserving as much of the original material and parts as possible. Such a high standard requires mastery of a wide range of skills, including carpentry, cabinetmaking, marquetry, metalwork and felt work, as well as a detailed and precise understanding of the techniques for adjusting the touch, harmonising the tone and achieving the sonic aesthetics specific to each era and each piano maker.
The piano is not a machine; it is a vehicle for emotion, especially when it forms part of a family’s heritage. Often lifeless, having lost its tone, worn down by age and the ravages of time and use, it is left neglected, weighed down by the burden of the years.
Restoring it means giving it a new lease of life by restoring a balanced tone, a responsive and consistent touch, and a pleasing visual appearance; it also means reviving memories, visceral and sensory sensations, and auditory recollections of past moments linked to learning to play and using the instrument.
To preserve the unrivalled charm unique to every antique piano, at the Balleron Workshop we like to take our time, so that time itself may endure. This involves researching and using the appropriate materials, in keeping with the period in which the piano was made.
Taking a highly personal, artisanal approach to her craft, Sylvie Fouanon works exclusively on a fixed-price basis. Her experience and the very long hours she puts in enable her to return your piano to you in perfect playing condition. Musically pleasing, with balanced registers, it becomes moving and evocative of emotions. Aesthetically, it regains its full beauty thanks to organic and natural varnishes.
In short, a piano that is beautiful, of high quality and eco-friendly.