BACKGROUND

KEY DATES

1872 : Establishment of Pianos KLEBER by Jean-Baptiste Kleber (1844-1918), initially the owner of a piano manufacturing workshop in Paris, on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Kleber married a woman from Luxembourg; they settled in Buschrodt, then in Sanem, and finally in Luxembourg City. There, he opened his first shop on Rue des Capucins. Later on, he moved to what is currently known as Boulevard Roosevelt, where his shop became extremely successful, offering the Luxembourgian public a wide range of instruments and sheet music of all types. Jean Kleber, son of Jean-Baptiste, then took over his father’s business. Meanwhile, another move brought the Klebers to Boulevard de la Pétrusse.

1920 : A new house was built on Rue Goethe. This is the address where the Kleber Company is located today, at number 20.

1937 : Emile Kleber (1911-1986), son of Jean, took over the Company’s management. He had learned the trade with Pleyel, the famous manufacturer, in Paris. Emile Kleber married Germaine Linden in 1935; he and his wife consolidated the Company’s reputation. Piano manufacturing was dropped at the beginning of World War II. In the 1960s, the Kleber Company took over the Hülsemann music shop.

1978 : The Grand Duke of Luxembourg awarded Pianos KLEBER with the title of ‘Royal Supplier’ ("Fournisseur de la Cour").

1979 : This was the year when Raymond Kleber, son of Emile, succeeded him. Born in 1939, Raymond had received extensive training with the oldest of German manufacturers, Ibach, and with Grotrian-Steinweg. Together with his wife, Françoise Niedercorn, he implemented a policy aimed at increasing the Company’s specialisation in uprights, grand pianos, digital pianos and church organs. Since the second half of the 1980s, this has been Pianos KLEBER’s main line of activity. It has become an exclusive sales representative for Steinway & Sons. Its second line of business is its high-quality maintenance service provided by technicians who are Steinway Akademie graduates. In the course of its assignments, Pianos KLEBER has worked for some of the world’s most renowned artists such as Alfred Brendel, Svjatoslav Richter, Radu Lupu, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Anatol Igorski, Alexis Weissenberg, Maria-João Pires, Martha Argerich, the Labèque Sisters, and many more.

2007 : After more than 40 years of passionate work as head of Pianos KLEBER, Mr Raymond Kleber transferred the management of this great company to the next generation with the aim of maintaining its high level of quality in the area of concert services and serving prestigious and demanding clients, such as conservatories, philharmonias, theaters, artists, and more. His choice has naturally fallen on Franck-Alexandre HANLET, currently Chief Executive Officer of Pianos HANLET S.A.S, known as an excellent piano company in France and in Belgium for its reliability and experience. A history of the HANLET Company is available at www.pianoshanlet.fr. The Pianos KLEBER Company offers a wide array of quality instruments and is a partner of choice for all piano lovers.