Abdallah_Chahine
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]
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Abdallah Chahine constructed his Oriental piano with the help of Austrian Hofmann.[3] Wadia Sabra had already had an oriental piano manufactured by Pleyel in Paris, 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.