For the first time in over 160 years the Brontë family’s cabinet piano is to be heard again at their former home in Haworth. This historic occasion will take place at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in June following months of complex conservation work.
It is not known for certain when the Brontës acquired their piano. Branwell Brontë developed a talent for both piano and church organ and it was possibly at his instigation that the instrument was acquired. Emily was described as playing ‘with precision and brilliancy’, and during her time as a student in Brussels, her ability warranted the services of the best available professor of music. Anne preferred to sing, though she was able to accompany herself on the piano. The family exception was Charlotte, whose poor eyesight proved an impediment to sight reading.
The piano has an interesting history: it was lent to Mr Grant, the curate of Oxenhope by Patrick Brontë after his children’s deaths, and then sold at an auction of Brontë items in 1861. It then passed through numerous hands before being put up for sale at Sothebys in 1916 as part of the collection of J.H. Dixon. Dixon’s wife was not satisfied with the price offered and withdrew the piano from the sale, presenting it instead to the Brontë Museum in memory of her husband.
The piano was valued by many of these former owners as a relic of the remarkable Brontë family. Over the years little interest has been taken in it as a musical instrument and it was no longer in playable condition. Recently the piano has undergone a lengthy and complex restoration process carried out by a specialist conservator and made possible by the generosity of an American Brontë Society member. Many of the internal workings were either damaged or missing and the restoration was further complicated by the piano’s rarity and the lack of similar instruments available for comparison.
The piano will be back on display at the museum from Thursday 3 June. It will be played on the evening of Friday 4 June 2010, at a special event for Brontë Society members. Music has been carefully selected from the archive at the museum and will be played by Maya Irgalina from the Royal Northern College of Music. Further events are now being planned to allow the public to hear the piano played on a regular basis.
zaterdag 22 mei 2010
Victoria Brookland:
Friday 21 May - Sunday 18 July
A series of new paintings by artist Victoria Brookland, inspired by the dresses in the Brontë Parsonage Museum collection.
Victoria Brookland has been painting and exhibiting for over twenty years and has spent the past few years exploring the lives and writing of ninetheenth century women. Her first series of Brontë-inspiured paintings, Secret Self, was exhibited at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in 2007. Her most recent exhibbition, Seeing in the Night Time, was at the Mercer art Gallery in Harrogate and featured a series of works exploring the lives of the Brontës and Emily Dickinson.
The exhibition is free with admission to the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
Brontes' piano restored to former glory
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Published Date: 22 May 2010
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Brontes39-piano-restored-to-former.6312008.jp
The former home of the Brontë family will be filled with the sound of music after more than 160 years.
The family's piano was last played in the parsonage, now the Brontë Museum, in the mid-1800s but was sold following the deaths of Charlotte, Anne, Emily and their brother Branwell.
But now the ivories of the upright piano will be tinkled at a recital next month, following its restoration financed by a Brontë Society member living in America.
The piano will be back on display at the museum, in Haworth, from Thursday, June 3, and played at the next exclusive meeting for Brontë Society members.
The Brontës were the world's most famous literary family. Their works include Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.