Gonzalez-Danion, originally known as Gonzalez or Establissements Gonzalez, was a French firm of
organ builders
This is a list of notable pipe organ Organ building, builders.
Australia
* William Anderson (1832–1921)
* Australian Pipe Organs Pty Ltd
* Robert Cecil Clifton (1854–1931)
* William Davidson
* J. E. Dodd, J. E. Dodd & Sons Gunstar Organ W ...
. Originally based in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, it was co-founded by
Victor Gonzalez (1877–1956) and Victor Ephreme in 1921. These two were the principal leaders of the firm for its first thirty-five years. ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...
'' stated that Victor Gonzalez was "the emblematic figure of French organ building of the mid-20th century."
In 1929 Gonzalez and Ephreme were joined by Victor's son Fernand Gonzalez (1904–1940). Also working in the firm until 1936 was the organ builder Rudolf von Beckerath. The Spanish organist trained as an organ builder under Gonzalez and Ephreme.
The organ builder
Georges Danion took over the firm in 1956 at which point it was renamed Gonzalez-Danion. Danion studied organ building under Gonzalez, beginning in 1947 and was married to Gonzalez's granddaughter, Annik Gonzalez, who also worked at Gonzalez-Danion as an organ builder. In 1962 Danion purchased the organ company of
Jacquot-Lavergne in
Rambervillers and moved the Gonzalez-Danion's manufacturing to that location. The company simultaneously had its office headquarters in
Brunoy. In 1988 the company's Rambervillers location was sold and that site now operates under the company
Manufacture Vosgienne de Grandes Orgues which is led by
Bernard Dargassies.
In 1980 Annik Gonzalez and Georges Danion had established a separate company,
Manufacture Languedocienne de Grandes Orgues, in Lodève, Hérault. When the Gonzalez-Danion company was sold in 1988 they moved all their energies into this new business. Danion retired in 1998 at which point that business was taken over by Charles-Emmanuel Sarélot.
Partial list of organs built or repaired
*
Saint-Eustache, Paris (1932 new; rebuilt 1967)
*
Reims Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and wa ...
(1938 new)
*
Chapel of Versailles (1938 new)
*
Soissons Cathedral
Soissons Cathedral (French: ''Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais'') is a Gothic basilica church in Soissons, France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin. The construction of the south transept was begun abou ...
(1956 new)
*
Oratoire du Louvre (1962 new)
*
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the List of bishops of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ( ...
(1971 new)
*
La Madeleine, Paris
The Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (, ), or less formally, La Madeleine (), is a Catholic parish church on Place de la Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was planned by Louis XV as the focal point of the new Rue Royal, leading t ...
(1971 repair)
*
Beauvais Cathedral
Beauvais Cathedral otherwise the Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais () is a Catholic church in the northern town of Beauvais, Oise, France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Beauvais, Noyon and Senlis.
The cathedral is in the High Gothic style, ...
(1979 new)
References
{{reflist
Pipe organ building companies
French pipe organ builders