Salle Érard

The Salle Érard began as a private music room tucked into the back of an eighteenth-century hotel particulier on the rue du Mail. It served as the heart of a manufacturing empire established by Sébastien Érard, the inventor who revolutionized piano design with his patented double escapement action. This technical innovation, perfected in the early nineteenth century, allowed keys to be struck rapidly in succession, and it remains the structural foundation for nearly every modern grand piano built today.