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Abdallah Chahine

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Abdallah Chahine (Arabic: عبد الله شاهين; 1894–1975) was a Lebanese pianist and tuner-technician who devised an "Oriental piano" capable of playing quarter tones.^[1][2]

Abdallah Chahine constructed his Oriental piano with the help of Austrian Hofmann.^[3] Wadia Sabra had already had an oriental piano manufactured by PleyelinParis, in 1920.^[4] As worded by Thomas Burkhalter,

Using an old straight piano, Chahine invented a prototype that had chords, a keyboard of six octaves, and an ingenious pedal devised to obtain quartertones.^[5]

In 1962, Chahine recorded a vinyl record with typical Oriental music.^[5]

Among the composers drawn to Chahine's microtonal instrument were Aloys Hába (1893–1973), Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Toufic Succar (1922–).^[6]

His family still owns a large music store in Beirut.^[7] His great-granddaughter Zeina Abirached has published a comicbook, Le piano oriental, about a character inspired by him.

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol. 2. Routledge. 2008.
• Kozma, Liat; Schayegh, Cyrus; Wishnitzer, Avner, eds. (2014). "'Small' Technologies and Consumer Goods". A Global Middle East.
• Burman Hall, Linda (2005). Kimberlin, Cynthia Tse; Euba, Akin (eds.). Towards an African Pianism: Keyboard Music of Africa and the Diaspora. Vol. 1.
• Les Cahiers de l'Oronte. 1969.
• Burkhalter, Thomas (2014). Local Music Scenes and Globalization: Transnational Platforms in Beirut.

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