Türkiye’s first piano restored to former glory

KASTAMONU

Türkiye’s first piano, manufactured in the northern province of Kastamonu in 1904, has undergone restoration and maintenance works.

Crafted by Taşköprülü Mehmet, a furniture manufacturer in the 1900s, the piano was inspired by one he saw in the home of an Italian engineer.

After measuring the Italian engineer’s piano, Mehmet spent a period of great effort to build the nation’s first piano, eventually crafting a total of five pianos.

Upon learning of his work, Enis Pasha, the governor at the time, gifted one of Mehmet's five pianos to Abdulhamid II, the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Today, Mehmet's pianos are on display in three different locations: The Kastomonu Museum and the Mimar Vedat Tek Culture and Arts Center and Yıldız Palace in Istanbul.

Ahmet Tunç Buyruklar from the Istanbul Technical University’s (İTÜ) Music Technology Department arrived in Kastamonu specifically for the restoration of the historic piano in the museum.

Out of Mehmet’s five pianos, the locations of the two remain unknown, according to Buyruklar.

“I traveled to the city to perform maintenance on the one in the Kastamonu Museum. Despite being a very worn-out instrument, it is still on display. My goal was to restore the keyboard to make it look nice and functional,” he explained.

Buyruklar highlighted the efforts to preserve Mehmet's legacy and restore the piano's grandeur, emphasizing the significance of building such an instrument at that time.

Süleyman Şenel from the university’s Musicology Department, who was also involved in the restoration work, echoed Buyruklar’s sentiments, highlighting the importance of the piano in terms of music history.