In the south of France, not far from the famous town of Carcasonne, is Limoux, a beautiful town crossed by the river Aude, which rises from the nearby Pyrenees. Limoux belongs to the Occitanie region, in the department of Aude. Since 2002, Limoux has been home to a piano museum that makes the hearts of piano lovers beat faster. Dozens of old instruments have been lovingly restored by professionals. Around 100 pianos can be admired in the Saint-Jacques church, which was built by the Dominicans in the 14th century and restored in the 19th century, where concerts are also held regularly.
It is interesting to know that hundreds of piano manufacturers in Europe were still producing pianos and other keyboard instruments in the 19th and early 21th centuries. At that time, it was good manners to have a piano at home, even if you couldn’t play the piano yourself. With the advent of rock music and many electronic piano instruments, as well as strong competition from Asia, most piano manufacturers could no longer keep up. Sales of pianos fell with every decade. Today, some of these old instruments can still be found in antique shops or serve as a whisky bar, reminding us of times gone by.
Today, there are only a few companies (left) and active that have managed to survive difficult times and manufacture high-level pianos of all kinds. Companies such as Steinway & Sons, Boston, Yahama, Bechstein, Fazioli and Schimmel are also known as brands to non-players.
The museum describes the art of piano making and you can see a number of piano brands that have not been around for decades and in some cases for over 200 years. All of these piano brands used special techniques, which are explained in the museum.
«Essayer moi», an invitation to pianists to play an instrument is written on a piano at the back of the church. So, I played «Ain’t Misbehavin», composed by Thomas «Fats» Waller, an old stride piano warhorse, one of the best pianists of his time, together with James P. Johnson, Willie «The Lion» Smith and Art Tatum. The song dates back to 1929 and is one of the most famous jazz songs ever. If you like the music style, then read the interviews with Dick Hyman, Buddha Scheidegger and Chris Hopkins, some great piano talents.
© 2025 by Christian Dueblin. All rights reserved. Other publications are only allowed with the explicit permission of the author.
Read some of our interviews with pianists and other musicians:
- Richard Clayderman about “Ballade pour Adeline”, his approach to music and his personal feelings about interpretations
- Jon Lord about composing, his music career and the developments in the music industry
- Dick Hyman about playing the piano, jazz and life
- Rita Juon-Turner about her father – Harlem Stride Pianist Joe Turner (1907 – 1990)
- Vladimir Ashkenazy about his life, his own musical gift and his spiritual comprehension of music’s significance beyond words
- Buddha Scheidegger über sein „Doppelleben“ als Musiker und Jurist, über Jazz und die Schweizer Jazz-Szene
- Artur Beul über sein Leben, seine Musik und seine Welthits
- Hazy Osterwald über seine Karriere als Bandleader, seine Liebe zum Jazz und die Musik vor und nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg
- Chris Hopkins über Jazz und Echoes of Swing, seine musikalische Karriere und über Hazy Osterwald, Ralph Sutton und Dick Hyman
- Dave Ruosch über seinen musikalischen Werdegang und die Blues- und Jazzszene in der Schweiz
