Chappell & Co.

Chappell & Co. was a British music publishing company and piano manufacturer founded on January 1, 1811, on Bond Street, London. For over 175 years it was one of the most important music publishers in the English-speaking world, building a catalog that encompassed the Great American Songbook, the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, major Broadway musicals, and a vast body of classical and popular music. Simultaneously one of Britain's most prominent piano manufacturers, the company produced instruments at its Chalk Farm factory from the 1840s onward and by the early twentieth century was manufacturing over one hundred grand and upright pianos per week. The publishing business changed hands several times in its later decades — passing from family control to the Dreyfus brothers, then to PolyGram, and finally to Warner Communications in 1987, where it was merged with Warner's existing publishing holdings to form Warner Chappell Music. The retail and instrument business on Bond Street was sold separately and continued trading under the Chappell of Bond Street name until 2006, when it relocated to Wardour Street in Soho.

Founding (1811)

The partnership that became Chappell & Co. was formed on December 3, 1810, by three men: Samuel Chappell (c. 1782–1834), a pianist; Francis Tatton Latour, a music professor; and Johann Baptist Cramer, one of the most celebrated pianists, composers, and teachers in London at the time. The firm opened for business on January 1, 1811, at 124 New Bond Street, operating as a combined sheet music retailer, musical instrument shop, and publisher. One of its earliest publications was Cramer's own Studies for the Pianoforte, which went through many editions. In 1812, the firm opened a dedicated "Ware room" on the premises displaying cabinet pianos, squares, and grand pianos — instruments not yet made by Chappell itself, but personally selected by Cramer and Latour, a distinction the firm advertised to the nobility and gentry.

In January 1813, Cramer convened a meeting of professional musicians at 124 New Bond Street, from which the Philharmonic Society (later the Royal Philharmonic Society) was born. Chappell was closely linked to the Society for many years. Cramer withdrew from the partnership in 1819 and Latour in 1826, leaving Samuel Chappell as sole proprietor. In the early 1820s, Chappell's was awarded the Royal Warrant.

A letter from Ludwig van Beethoven to his friend Ferdinand Ries, dated 1819, later came into Chappell's possession. In it Beethoven wrote: "Potter says that Chappell's in Bond Street is now one of the best publishers" — an endorsement the firm treasured.

The Chappell Family Era (1834–1925)

Samuel Chappell died in 1834, leaving a widow, Emily Chappell (née Patey), and three sons — William, Thomas, and Arthur. Emily took control of the business. William Chappell (1809–1888) managed the firm on behalf of his mother before departing around 1843 to join Cramer & Co. and later to found the Percy Society and the Musical Antiquarian Society. His younger brother Thomas Patey Chappell (1819–1902) then took charge and steered the company through its most significant period of growth.

Thomas focused the publishing business on musical theater — a specialty that remained central to Chappell's identity for the rest of its independent existence. Major publications under his direction included the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, the music of Arthur Sullivan, Charles Gounod's Faust, and Michael Balfe's The Bohemian Girl. Thomas also conceived and co-sponsored the Monday and Saturday Popular Concerts at St. James's Hall beginning in 1859; his younger brother Samuel Arthur Chappell managed the concerts until they concluded in 1901. Thomas was a founding member of the Music Publishers Association and served as its first chairman from 1881 to 1900. He was also one of the original directors of the Royal College of Music and an original governor of the Royal Albert Hall.

The firm began manufacturing its own pianos in the 1840s, opening a factory in Phoenix Street, Soho, before relocating to a larger facility at Chalk Farm. In 1896, Chappell & Co. was formally registered as a limited company. In 1901, the piano manufacturing side was incorporated separately as Chappell Piano Co., Ltd. By 1922, the factory was producing over one hundred grand and upright pianos per week. In 1929, the piano company expanded by acquiring Allison Pianos and Collard & Collard, and in 1938 acquired John Strohmenger & Sons.

The Dreyfus Era and the Great American Songbook (1926–1968)

In 1926, American brothers Max Dreyfus (1874–1964) and Louis Dreyfus (1877–1967) purchased a controlling interest in Chappell & Co. Max Dreyfus, already one of the most powerful figures in the American music publishing industry through his control of T. B. Harms & Co., had spent decades developing and signing the leading songwriters of the era. His roster at Harms included Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstein II, Irving Caesar, Alan Jay Lerner, and Frederick Loewe. Under the Dreyfus brothers, Chappell became the dominant publisher of the Great American Songbook and of Broadway musical theater, holding the rights to an extraordinary body of American popular song. In the United Kingdom, the firm continued publishing works by theater composers including Noël Coward and Ivor Novello. Chappell also served as the British agent for G. Schirmer from 1938 to 1973, and continued to publish concert music by prominent British composers including Arnold Bax.

On May 15, 1964, three days after Max Dreyfus died in the United States, fire destroyed the London building on Bond Street. The archives were devastated. Louis Dreyfus, who was present in London at the time, was deeply affected by the loss. The premises were subsequently rebuilt. In 1968–1970, the publishing business was sold to PolyGram for £20 million. In 1975, Chappell acquired the American publisher Hill & Range, further expanding its catalog.

Late History and Acquisition (1980–1987)

In 1980, Chappell sold its retail and piano activities to concentrate entirely on music publishing. The Bond Street premises and the Chappell of Bond Street retail business were purchased by Kemble Pianos, a major distributor of Yamaha instruments, which continued to operate the store under the Chappell of Bond Street name; the shop relocated in November 2006 from its original Bond Street location of 195 years to the Grade II listed Novello Building at 152–160 Wardour Street, Soho.

In 1984, PolyGram sold the Chappell publishing business to a group of American investors that included music executive Freddy Bienstock, who moved the company's headquarters from London to New York. In 1987, Warner Communications — parent of Warner Music Group — purchased Chappell from those investors for approximately $275 million. The deal was overseen by Warner Communications chairman Chuck Kaye. Chappell was merged with Warner's existing publishing holdings, which included the Music Publishers Holding Company catalog (M. Witmark & Sons, Remick Music, and T. B. Harms), to form Warner/Chappell Music (later Warner Chappell Music), one of the largest music publishers in the world.

The Chappell production music library (the Chappell Recording Music Library) was not included in the Warner acquisition and passed separately to the Zomba Group of Companies, which was later acquired by BMG, making the library part of BMG-Zomba Production Music. It subsequently passed to Universal Music Group following Bertelsmann's sale of its music publishing business in 2007.

Piano Manufacturing

Chappell pianos were manufactured from the 1840s until 2000. The factory at Chalk Farm produced instruments under the Chappell name for over 150 years. From 1980, following the separation of the publishing and instrument businesses, Kemble Pianos manufactured instruments under the Chappell name until production ceased on April 1, 2000, at Kemble's factory in Buckinghamshire. Chappell pianos are serial-numbered and dateable from extant factory records.

Period	Manufacturing Notes
1840s–1900	Factory opened in Phoenix Street, Soho; relocated to Chalk Farm
1901	Chappell Piano Co. Ltd. incorporated as a separate entity
1922	Production reaches 100+ pianos per week
1929	Acquired Allison Pianos and Collard & Collard
1938	Acquired John Strohmenger & Sons
1980	Retail and instrument business sold to Kemble Pianos
1980–2000	Kemble manufactures Chappell-branded pianos at Buckinghamshire factory
April 1, 2000	Piano production ceases

Selected Published Works

Composer / Songwriter	Works Published
Johann Baptist Cramer	Studies for the Pianoforte (1811)
Arthur Sullivan / W. S. Gilbert	Gilbert and Sullivan operettas
Charles Gounod	Faust
Michael Balfe	The Bohemian Girl
Noël Coward	Musical comedies and songs
Ivor Novello	Musical theater works
Jerome Kern	Show Boat, "Ol' Man River" (via Dreyfus/Harms)
George Gershwin	Porgy and Bess, Rhapsody in Blue (via Dreyfus/Harms)
Cole Porter	"Night and Day," "Anything Goes" (via Dreyfus/Harms)
Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II	The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, South Pacific
Arnold Bax	Concert music; published until sale to PolyGram 1968