Born in 1894, Chahine developed an interest for music from a young age. At the age of 14, he received a
harmonium as a gift from his father. He went on to play the instrument regularly St. Joseph's Church in
Beirut. After his parents' refusal to send him to the
Vienna Musical School, he started a job as a piano tuner, and later became one the first importers of Western instruments to Lebanon. Even though
Wadia Sabra had already had an
Oriental piano (manufactured by
Pleyel in
Paris in 1920), as early as 1930–1931, Chahine developed the first prototypes of what would be his own Oriental piano. This was constructed with the help of Austrian manufacturer
Hofmann (which has been producing the instrument since) and was first shown at the Austrian pavilion during a 1954 exhibition in
Damascus. Two years later, he presented his instrument to the
UNESCO Congress in Beirut. In 1962, Chahine recorded a vinyl record with Middle Eastern music. His great-granddaughter
Zeina Abirached has published a comicbook,
Le piano oriental, about a character inspired by him. ==References==