grand piano
Anonymous
built in Vienna in ± 1795
An anonymous fortepiano, built in (or near) Vienna, ca. 1795. Keyboard range: 5 octaves, FF–g”’. The cabinet is made of veneered cherry wood, has five legs, and features beautiful decorative inlaid lines around the keyboard. The lower keys are covered with ebony, and the semitones with ivory plates. Everything about the cabinet and soundboard is original, as are the keys, hammer heads, and the damping system.
History of this instrument
This rare fortepiano was donated to the Musical Instrument Fund in 2014 by Jan-Willem Steffelaar, a pathologist from The Hague. In addition to his medical career, it turned out he had a completely different life in store for him. During his school years, Steffelaar became interested in wood and woodworking and developed an interest and passion for music. He used his savings to buy his first drill, later adding various attachments. A beloved uncle lent him a beautiful Louis Lot flute.
Music and craftsmanship had thus always been important elements in Steffelaar’s life. He made and restored countless pieces of furniture and, through an advertisement for an Erard grand piano for sale, came into contact with Edwin Beunk, an authority in the field of fortepiano restoration. A friendship developed, and Steffelaar gained access to the master restorer’s workshop, where he and his staff taught him how to disassemble, adjust the action, string the instrument, polish the finish, and more.
Beunk acquired a 5-octave fortepiano, built around 1795—a truly exceptional instrument. Since he didn’t have the time to work on it himself, he offered the instrument to Steffelaar. Steffelaar fell head over heels for the instrument and for the opportunity to restore it himself in Edwin Beunk’s workshop, with the support and assistance of all the staff there. This took place in two phases: first, it was decided to restore the instrument as closely as possible to its original condition as found. This involved a nearly complete dismantling, particularly because it gradually became apparent that the instrument had a rather unique construction: the soundboard extended all the way to just below the outer veneer of the case. Furthermore, the action exhibited a number of peculiarities that might indicate the instrument was originally a tangent grand piano. Elements such as the unusual wooden caps (in which the axles of the hammer shanks are attached to the keys) and the unusual curvature of the pinblock comb were initially left unchanged.
After several years, however, this situation was deemed unsatisfactory, and it was decided to undertake a second round of restoration, during which the wooden caps were replaced with period-appropriate brass caps, the soundboard comb was repositioned, and a different stringing pattern was implemented. Finally, the playability was improved by further tapering the hammer shanks, and Edwin Beunk experimented with the hammerhead finishes until a satisfactory tone was achieved.
And so it came to pass that this magnificent instrument was ready to be added to the collection of the Musical Instrument Fund. Jan Willem Steffelaar wishes to emphasize, incidentally, that the craftsmanship of Edwin Beunk and his team made this result possible. The “Steffelaar fortepiano” has been loaned by the Musical Instrument Fund to the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, allowing piano students to play repertoire from the First Viennese School on an instrument from that same era.
About the builder Anonymous
For a number of instruments in our collection, the experts have been unable to determine who built them. Often, however, the location or region is known, and in most cases, a construction period can also be determined. This conclusion...
