Sykes & Sons

W. Danemann & Company was established in 1893, by German-born William (Wilhelm) Danemann, and grew to become one of Britain's best-known piano manufacturers with a strong reputation for excellent build quality. The Danemann piano company undoubtedly produced some of the UK's finest instruments at their factory in Islington, London, and has been a brand close to the heart of Sykes & Sons for many years.

 

William Danemann opened up his business in a factory on Northampton Street, Islington, named The Danemann Piano Works, and joined the once large group of piano manufacturers operating in London at that time. By the 1920s, William had been joined by three of his sons, Frederick, Edgar, and Edward.

 

After the Second World War, Danemann moved focus away from supplying the mass market and redirected all efforts to manufacturing instruments of the highest possible quality from the very best materials available to the trade. Through their insistence on quality, Danemann earned several lucrative contracts with some of the most recognised names in the British retail, leisure, and entertainment sectors. Danemann Pianos formed the stock of the musical instrument department at Harrods of Knightsbridge, used on the vessels operated by P&O Cruises, and were found throughout eminent venues all across the UK, such as the Royal Festival Hall. Danemann also supplied instruments to British embassies across the globe, with individual modifications to suit the particular climates the pianos were being exported to.

 

Danemann's capability and willingness to build pianos to very rigid specifications made them a manufacturer of choice for many of the UK's educational authorities. Danemann was entrusted to supply pianos of outstanding quality to many of the country's most prestigious institutions, such as the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, many of which are still serviced and in use today.

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Behind the distinctive tone and sustaining power that Danemann is revered for is a scale design that began inception at Grotrian-Steinweg of Braunschweig, Germany, and evolved within Danemann to eventually be incorporated into their instruments. Egdar was a brilliant piano designer and introduced an interesting feature called the 'back bridge' into the firm's instruments as early as the 1930s. The back bridge adds strength to the soundboard and enhances the tonal colour and consistency across all of the registers. The back bridge had not been seen in any other British piano prior but had long been an addition in certain pianos of German origin.

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After meticulous training, Peter Danemann, Edgar's son, and third generation of Danemann piano makers, joined the family factory. Peter, like his father, developed an intricate knowledge of piano construction, scale design, and action geometry, and used this comprehension to develop more Danemann models alongside his father. One of the pianos that Peter designed is the PJA 85 we offer here. Domestic Danemann pianos, such as the PJA 85, are favoured for their sweet, rich, and full-bodied tone, which is more similar to pianos of German origin than any of their English-made competitors.

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Like all British manufacturers, Danemann could not compete with the low retail prices of pianos made in the Far East, and this combined with diminishing school budgets during the 1970s and 1980s forced the closure of the Danemann factory in 1985. In 2015, the rights to the Danemann name were sold to a firm with the intention of affixing the famous name to a line of Chinese-made instruments and the import of these pianos began in 2017. This latest generation of Danemann pianos may share the same logo as their British predecessors, but they contain no designs or influence from the original company or the craftspeople who built the Daneman reputation.

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This PJA 85, housed in a satin mahogany case, is a real Danemann pedigree, designed and built at the factory in Islington by the family whose name it bears. All Danemann pianos offered by Sykes & Sons are indeed British-made instruments that have been carefully reconditioned in our workshop, in a process sympathetic to the original makers. Sykes & Sons really trusts the excellent build quality of British-made Danemann pianos and we are sure you will appreciate why when you visit.