Pleyel, Lyon and Company

French piano company

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June 17, 2026

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The company Pleyel, Lyon et Cie was a French piano manufacturer. It was founded in Paris in 1807 by Ignace Joseph Pleyel, an Austro-French composer, music publisher, and piano builder. Pleyel's son, Camille, became a partner in 1815, and the firm was renamed "Ignace Pleyel et fils aîné".1

Later, Camille's son-in-law, Auguste Wolff, took over, and the company became Pleyel, Wolff & Cie. After Wolff's death, his son-in-law, Gustave Lyon, renamed it Pleyel, Lyon et Cie. This iteration of the company is known for developing a chromatic harp in the late 19th century. The Pleyel company was also associated with famous musicians like Frédéric Chopin, who owned a Pleyel grand piano. Marie-Félicité-Denise Pleyel, a celebrated pianist, married Camille Pleyel and later became a professor at the Brussels Conservatory.12

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keyboard instrument
Modern revival
…piano firms of Érard and Pleyel in Paris. Almost immediately, the full brunt of 19th-century piano technology was applied to the manufacture of the revived instruments, and they became increasingly massively strung and framed as time passed. Pedals for changing registers were included from the beginning, and Pleyel first added…
Read More
…piano firms of Érard and Pleyel in Paris. Almost immediately, the full brunt of 19th-century piano technology was applied to the manufacture of the revived instruments, and they became increasingly massively strung and framed as time passed. Pedals for changing registers were included from the beginning, and Pleyel first added…
Read More