At the end of the 19th century, the wall piano of the Mazarrón Casino entertained banquets and dances of the bourgeoisie, when the town was experiencing the golden years of the mining business. Now it sounds like it did then, and neighbors will be able to enjoy its music just as those ancestors did. The miracle of recovering the instrument, abandoned and silent for decades, has come from the hand of Murcian Víctor Javier Martínez López, one of the few experts in the country who are dedicated to restoring harmony to these musical jewels with history. The presentation of the restoration will take place on May 11. And the explanation of this musicologist and professor at the University of Murcia about the work carried out will be accompanied by a concert by the pianist from Caravaca Luis Cantó. The event also promises surprises.
The tuning of the Casino's upright piano has left discoveries. Martínez López says that the date of manufacture has been inscribed on one of the keys: the year 1897. Inside the box, some playing cards have also been found, another reminder of the past of the instrument linked to the entertainment industry. for the wealthiest classes of the town.
The expert defines the process carried out as “a conservationist restoration.” He means that the real challenge is for the piece to sound the same again as when it was conceived. And, to do this, the Murcian musician uses the same materials and techniques that were used in the original construction. Martínez López does not hide his satisfaction with the result.
The Casino piano is one of the instruments that left the Parisian house Charrier Prats Cie (with the serial number 1,633), and that was probably completed assembling in a workshop in Catalonia before embarking on its journey to its final destination. More than its musical value – which it undoubtedly has – its importance for Mazarrón lies in the fact that it is the only element of the furniture that is preserved from the Casino, a building from the end of the 19th century, with a modernist touch, which recalls the mining past of the population. The recovery of this 'charrier prats' represents the culmination of an iconic project for the municipality, in which the government team of Mayor Ginés Campillo has placed special interest: returning to the town its cultural athenaeum, reopened last December after remaining closed for years due to the risk of ruin.
Víctor Javier Martínez López is one of the most recognized professionals in the field of historical instruments. Private collectors and institutions alike resort to his mastery; also from abroad, such as the National Museum of Music in Lisbon. Among his latest works, his collaboration with National Heritage in the restoration of the Royal Collections stands out.
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