Romantic Pianos

Il vero colore del legno antico -- True Colors of antique Wood

2011-01-01T13:05:00.001-08:00

Here Is a photo of the restored case of my Pleyel, beside a piece of the lid, which has it's original finish but did not suffer much sun-damage

Ecco una foto del mio Pleyel accanto ad un pezzo del suo coperchio che non ha preso molto sole, in condizione originale.

Here is the other side of the lid with extensive sun-damage, causing the familiar light brown haze.

Ecco l'altro lato del coperchio con i danni causati dal sole. Il colore e schiarito e non si vede la venatura.

Rosewood, or Palissandre from the early 1800's was quite dark with a violet hue, especially the more expensive varieties. As the wood gets older and exposed to the sun, it becomes closer to red, yellow and brown..

what you see is the lid which has been extensively sanded down, paying attention not to make the veneer too thin!

il Palissandro dell'800 era molto scuro, specialmente le varietà più costose che si sono poi estinte come tante altre essenze nella prima metà del secolo.

qui si vede il coperchio che è stato lentamente sabbiato, facendo attenzione a non bucare od assottigliare troppo l'impiallaciatura!

A description of the hammer-making process from 1844!

2010-12-25T07:12:00.000-08:00

Solo il capo dello stabilimento era solitamente affidato a ricoprire i martelli con la pelle, perche ogni pezzo di pelle aveva diverse qualità meccaniche, porosità ETC.
Graf e Petzold devono molto del loro successo alla loro abilità di garnire i martelli

Only the head of the department was usually allowed to recover hammers made in leather because of the inherent inequality of each piece of leather, mechanically speaking.

Graf and Petzold owe much of their success as a result of their ability to garnish hammers.

Nel 1826 Pape introduce il feltro grigio di pelo di lepre, dipinto di veleno verde per allontanare le farfalle. I fabbricanti francesi rubano la sua idea ed iniziano ad applicare lo stesso feltro ma senza il veleno..dicendo che visto che il colore era diverso, il brevetto non valeva.

in 1826 Pape invents felt for hammers made from rabbit-fur made green with a poison to keep moths away. Soon afterwards French manufacturers steal his idea by making the same kind of felt but without the green poison.. to avoid having to pay royalties to Pape for his patent.

OGGI (1844) il feltro (grigio di coniglio in Francia, bianco in lana in Inghilterra) ha rimpiazzato la pelle su tutti i pianoforti, per i numerosi vantaggi....etc.4

TODAY (in 1844) felt (gray in france, and white -- made of wool -- in England according to the writing above) has replaced leather in all european pianos.

Fauré and Erard

2010-12-03T04:44:00.000-08:00

Marguerite Long and Erard

2010-12-01T04:34:00.000-08:00

Ravel and his Erard

2010-08-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

Ravel played and composed on Erard Pianos.

Kalkbrenner's Guide-Mains

2010-08-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

Who was Kalkbrenner?

Kalkbrenner was probably the foremost virtuoso in Europe and a prolific composer in the early part of the 1800's.

He also was a successful teacher and part-owner of Pleyel Pianos. He almost convinced Chopin (at least superficially) to take lessons from him, and Chopin dedicated his first concerto to him.

Kalkbrenner devised a method which used a wooden bar to support the forearm so that NO muscular intervention from the arms could intervene in playing.

In fact, the accepted technique at the time of Chopin, Liszt et al concentrated all of the effort and movement on the fingers and hands. Kalkbrenner's Guide-Mains was a simple tool to aid students to focus entirely on the fingers and hands without reverting to the 'crude' arm mechanism.

the effect on the playing is a clearer, more articulated and intelligent interpretation in my opinion. Nevertheless there is a difference in phrasing and overall 'sound' which was preferred at the time.

Unfortunately today's heavy actions make this kind of playing impossible without risk of tendinitis, but at the time, the actions were as light as they could get them because the technique was indeed built on finger-movement.

What you see in the picture is the guide-mains as illustrated in Kalkbrenner's book on technique. He mentions in the print that he sold 31,000 Guide mains in Paris alone as of 1845, which probably means an average of 3,000 a year for a decade!

Roller-Agraffe -- Agraffe a bassa frizione.

2010-07-08T01:52:00.000-07:00

Above is a shot of the lowest bass-strings on an 1843 Erard. To avoid catching on the windings, Erard invented an Agraffe with rollers. A similar device was used for electric guitars a few years ago.. as usual Erard was ahead of their time.

Sopra una foto delle Agraffe delle corde più basse di questo Erard del 1843. Per non impigliarsi su gli avvolgimenti della corda dei bassi Erard ha incorporato un rullino. Un'invenzione simile è stata applicata alle chitarre elettriche anni fà. Come al solito Erard era avanti!

Concert Pitch in Chopin's time -Diapason nei tempi di Chopin

2010-06-29T01:56:00.000-07:00

Come vedete dal testo di Montal (1836) il diapason nel 1829 andava da 434 a 438 Hz, mentre nel 1836 andava da 437 a 441 Hz

As noted above in a period book on tuning by Montal, concert pitch was between 434 and 438 Hz in 1829 and by 1836 it was between 437 and 441..

Lots of Antique Pianos -- Pianoforti antichi

2010-06-19T04:07:00.000-07:00

I went to visit Olivier Fadini in his workshop in Paris and this is what I found!

1822 Broadwood with true una (due, tre) corda pedal, 1843 Pleyel, 1838 Pianino, 1839 Pleyel Grand, 1832 Pleyel Grand, 1835 Pleyel Grand.. and more were in the room.

French Soundboards - Tavole Armoniche Francesi

2010-05-24T06:21:00.001-07:00

1844 Pleyel Soundboard. This is the kind of piano Chopin would have played on and composed.
The soundboard is Parallel-strung which gives a clear, articulate voice with not so much bass. There is a Tone-Bar glued-on underneath which makes the soundboard even clearer-sounding and finally a large Cutoff-Bar glued-on underneath (SORRY I LABELED IT INCORRECTLY ON THE PICTURE as stop-bar) which basically limits the vibrating space of the soundboard so that the active part of the soundboard is not too big.

Tavola armonica di un Pleyel del 1844, lo stesso tipo che Chopin avrebbe usato per suonare e comporre... c'è una catena incollata sotto che rende il suono piu chiaro e nitido. In piu, un'altra catena molto piu spessa blocca del tutto le vibrazioni, limitando la zona della tavola armonica vibrante per ottenere un suono ancora piu chiaro

A Pleyel Pianino soundboard veneered in rosewood for added strength. Note that the SIZE of the soundboard is reduced to avoid excessive bass and maintain a clear, singing tone.
Chopin often played these Pianinos and composed on them as well. This kind of piano also has a tone-bar
Questa e la tavola armonica di un Pianino Pleyel, usato spesso da Chopin. Come vedete la larghezza della tavola è ridotta per mantenere un suono chiaro e non avere troppi bassi. Il Pleyel ha anche una catena in più che rende il suono ancora più chiaro (non squillante ma nitido).

Questa è la tavola di un Boisselot del 1846 (usato da Liszt per comporre molti pezzi). SI nota anche qui una catena per rendere il suono piu chiaro.
This is the soundboard of a Boisselot from 1846, as used by Liszt to compose and play on occasionally. You can see the tone-bar which aids in obtaining a clearer sound.

Ecco una foto del lato inferiore di un Erard a Gran Coda. Come si può vedere la tavola armonica ha una 'catena' (listello incollato alla tavola) spessa e lunga che costeggia il ponticelli a circa 60 cm di distanza.
Il motivo è semplice: applicando una catena spessa, cambia il modo di risuonare la tavola. Il suono diventa dunque più chiaro e definito, limitando l'escursione dei bassi.
Se si considera che il pianoforte Francese, usato da tutti i compositori dell'800, era esclusivamente a corde PARALLELE, ci si rende conto che l'obiettivo era di avere una tavola che suonasse sopratutto in modo chiaro.

Here's a photo of the bottom of an Erard Grand from the 19° Century. As you can see a 'tone-bar' is glued to the bottom which serves the purpose of voicing the soundboard to obtain a clear sound free of excessive bass-frequencies. If one considers that French Pianos, which were used almost exclusively by the vast majority of 'classical' composers and pianists in the 1800's, were also typically parallel-strung (Erard retained Parallel stringing until the early 1900's) it is evident that the sound-ideal of the times was that of a clear and vocal-sounding piano.

Pleyel refinish -- Laccatura Pleyel

2010-05-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Prima / Before:

After / Dopo:

Ecco delle foto della ribaltina e parte frontale del Pleyel dopo essere stati sverniciati e rilucidati.

Here are some photos of the Pleyel after it has been stripped and repolished

Pleyel Felt with little or no tension

2010-04-20T01:53:00.000-07:00

Unlike most hammer-coverings, be they in leather or felt, this particular 'transition' design of hammer has the external layer of felt which is glued-on all around the surface of the underlying layers. Normally a predetermined degree of tension would be applied to the felt and the felt would be fastened on the sides with no glue on the tip to make sure that the glue does not harden the striking surface.

in this case a very thin layer of what looks like fish-glue is used even under the crown!

There are some restorers who have mentioned that this is not original felt, given the unorthodox nature of both the felt, which is very soft and resilient and more similar to damper-felt than modern hammer-felt. I believe the felt is original, given that a Pleyel which is found in the museum of Bologna which differs only a few serial numbers from mine had exactly the same hammer-types before restoration.

Below is a link which shows the hammers before restoration.

http://www.flavio-ponzi.it/Pagine/Articoli.html

Questi martelli sono insoliti perchè hanno lo strato esterno che è stato applicato senza applicare tensione sul feltro, come si fa solitamente. Normalmente i strati di pelle o feltro sono incollati solo su i fianchi e poi messi in tensione per avere un buon contatto con la punta e per regolare la brillantezza del suono.

Questo tipo di martello funziona su un'altro principio: lo strato esterno è applicato quasi senza tensione e funziona come una molla, senza bisogno di tendere il feltro.

Visto che non c'è tensione, il feltro viene anche incollato sulla punta del martello per assicurare un buon contatto e quindi una buona interazione tra lo strato superiore e quelli interni.

Ci sono certi restauratori che non essendo familiari con il suddetto tipo di martello dicono che non sia originale. Io penso che sia originale perchè un'altro pleyel dello stesso modello, distante solo pochi numeri di serie dal mio aveva i stessi martelli. Si trova al museo di Bologna.

se volete vedere le foto dei martelli di quest'altro pianoforte cliccate sul link sopra.

2010-04-08T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ecco un esempio sonoro della differenza tra il feltro originale Pleyel, ed un feltro bianco di lana della stessa densità e con qualità meccaniche simili. Il feltro pleyel è molto difficile da copiare perche si comporta come una molla nonostante sia molto morbido.

Here is a video showing the difference in sound between the original Pleyel felt and a modern wool felt made with similar mechanical qualities and with the same density. The Pleyel felt is very difficult to recreate, as it had almost ideal mechanical qualities for this design

2010-03-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Dopo avere sverniciato, leggermente sabbiato e rilucidato a tampone, seguendo il metodo francese, ecco la venatura rossiccia del legno che e di nuovo visibile. La maniglia di ottone è stata lucidata e protetta con resine naturali

After having stripped, lightly sanded and french-polished the side of the piano, the grain and slightly reddish color of the Mahogany is visible once again. The brass handle was polished and protected with natural resins from oxidization.

Pleyel restoration

2010-03-28T05:37:00.001-07:00

Here is one of the legs after being stripped, lightly sanded and french-polished

Ecco la gamba posteriore dopo essere stata sverniciata, leggermente sabbiata e lucidata

The entire leg was carved out of a single piece of cuban mahogany, including the screw. Unfortunately, this kind of wood is not suitable for making threaded screws, as it tends to chip. I replaced the screws with hand-made screws made of hardwood. Pleyel switched to a hardwood screw, glued-in just like this a couple of years later.

L'intera gamba era tornita da un pezzo di mogano cubano intero. Sfortunatamente, il mogano cubano si rompe troppo facilmente per fare una vite del genere. Ho fatto tre viti di legno a mano, incollando le viti nella gamba. Pleyel ha iniziato a fare le gambe nello stesso modo pochi anni dopo.

Più della metà delle astine erano rotte oppure di un legno troppo duro ed inelastico. Ho cambiato le astine con delle astine fatte da me con il legno originale.

More than half the hammer-shanks were either broken or replaced with inadequate hardwood dowel. I replaced them with dowel of the correct type, made here at home.

Erard -- Castiglione Olona

2009-12-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

My Restored 1894 Erard is now in the castle at Castiglione Olona, Italy.

It was necessary to get it out of the storage area it was left in because of the cold winter temperatures.

There will be a series of concerts and events played on it during it's stay here.

L'Erard del 1894 restauratoè stato trasportato al castello di Castiglione Olona, provincia di Varese.

Durante il suo soggiorno nel castello, verranno programmati dei concerti ed eventi.

Old Ad

2009-09-13T22:33:00.000-07:00

Pleyel soundboard design

2009-09-13T05:55:00.000-07:00

This picture shows the sophisticated soundboard design of my 1844 Pleyel.

Both an impedance-bar and a stop-bar are used to voice the sound-producing surface.

2009-09-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Questo è un video della meccanica Broadwood

This is a video of the Broadwood Action

Lindsay Sloper

2009-08-26T06:31:00.001-07:00

click to view in large format

Lindsay Sloper was a famous pianist in England, and had spent some time in Paris during the 1840's. He introduced Jane Stirling (one of Sloper's pupils) to Chopin. Miss Sterling was the daughter of a wealthy Scottish landowner who was Chopin's senior by a few years. Although Jane Stirling was attractive and had refused marriage proposals she preferred to live unmarried and was always accompanied by her sister Mrs. Katherine Erskine.
In February of 1848 revolution broke out in the streets of Paris. King Louis Philippe was overthrown, and the French Royal family fled to England.
Chopin was invited by Jane Stirling and her sister to come to England where he was assured engagements and pupils.
In England during 1848 Lindsay Sloper recieved free lessons from Chopin. Sloper also directed the Orchestra in London for Chopin's concert during that year.
The 1845 Broadwood I am restoring was hired by Lindsay Sloper for some months after his return from Paris, and is a full concert grand of 8' (240 cm).

Lindsay Sloper è stato un pianista famoso in Inghilterra durante il periodo Romantico, ed aveva trascorso qualche tempo a Parigi, durante gi anni '40. Ha introdotto Jane Stirling (uno dei suoi allievi ) a Chopin, sempre a Parigi.
Miss Sterling era la figlia di un ricco proprietario terriero scozzese che era piu anziana di Chopin seppur di pochi anni. Anche se Jane Stirling era attraente ed aveva rifiutato proposte di matrimonio, scelse di vivere celibe ed era sempre accompagnata dalla sorella, Katherine Erskine.
Nel febbraio del 1848 scoppiò la rivoluzione nelle strade di Parigi. Re Luigi Filippo fu tolto dal trono e la famiglia reale francese fuggi in Inghilterra. Chopin è stato invitato da Jane Stirling e la sorella in Inghilterra dove è stato assicurato impegni concertistici ed alunni.
In Inghilterra nel 1848 Lindsay Sloper ha ricevuto lezioni gratuite da Chopin. Sloper fu direttore per l'Orchestra di Londra per il concerto di Chopin nel corso dello stesso anno. Il Broadwood che sto restaurando del 1845 fu affittati da Lindsay Sloper per alcuni mesi dopo il suo ritorno da Parigi.
Trattasi di un modello da concerto da 8 piedi (240 cm).

Martelliera finita - Hammer Shanks fixed

2009-08-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

BEFORE / PRIMA

AFTER/DOPO

The Hammer Shanks which were not of the original wood-type and diameter were replaced and the action works once again!

Le astine dei martelletti sono state rimesse a posto e la meccanica funziona di nuovo!

1845 Broadwood Hammers

2009-08-05T10:08:00.001-07:00

The hammers on the Broadwood arrived with about half of them being modified with modern hammer shanks with different diameters. The original hammers were made of a much lighter and elastic wood and were much thinner than the replacement ones.

Not only did the repairman replace the hammer-shanks with an inflexible substitute but he monted them wrong by drilling at the wrong angle, making it impossible for the action to work!

I made the holes of the correct size and inclination so that new cedar shanks, which had to be made by hand, could be mounted

Ho trovato che metà dei martelli del Broadwood erano stati modificati con delle astine di legno moderne, di diversi diametri. I martelli originali avevano delle astine di legno molto più leggere ed elastiche, ed erano anche più sottili..
Non solo il 'riparatore' ha cambiato il tipo di legno e la dimensione, ma ha anche rovinato la sede dell'astina, trapanando con l'inclinazione sbagliata!... quindi la meccanica non poteva funzionare correttamente!

Ho rifatto i buchi della grandezza giusta, inclinati nel modo corretto, poi ho incollato delle astine nuove, fatte a mano con lo stesso tipo di legno.

2009-07-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ecco il mio Pianino... che ha bisogno di essere restaurato..

Here is my Pianino, in need of restoration.

PHOTOS

2009-07-03T07:02:00.001-07:00

qualsiasi domanda si può rivolgere lasciando un commento in basso, dove c'è scritto 'commento'

oppure mandate un email a acortot@hotmail.it

Prima accordatura

2009-02-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

Erard Damper Mechanism Restored, Smorzi rifatti

2009-02-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of the Restored damper assembly mounted on the 1894 Erard.

Ecco delle foto del meccanismo dei smorzi Erard appena montato dopo essere stato rifeltrato e riparato.

Broadwood Re-finishing -- Restauro mobile Broadwood

2009-02-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I have begun to re-finish and polish the 1845 Broadwood.

Ecco delle foto del Broadwood del 1845 in fase di restauro e lucidatura.

New Damper Felt -- Feltro Per Smorzatori

2009-02-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

After months of trial and error, finally a sheet of custom-made felt arrived from one of the oldest piano-felt manufacturers still in business. The dimensions and mechanical qualities have been copied from the original Erard damper felt!

Dopo mesi di attesa e comunicazioni con una delle più vecchie fabbriche di feltro per Pianoforti, finalmente è arrivato il feltro che ho ordinato per ricostruire i smorzi Erard. Le caratteristiche meccaniche e dimensioni sono state copiate dal feltro originale.

The Piano Of The Golden Age

2009-01-18T03:16:00.000-08:00

Out on iTunes now is a record by the pianist Giovanni Velluti which was recorded on Erard N°66068 made in 1890.

Su iTunes la registrazione di Giovanni Velluti sull'Erard del 1890 N° 66068

More Photos

2008-12-16T03:30:00.000-08:00

Leg and brass caster polished - gamba lucidata

2008-12-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

Quasi Finito - Almost Done

2008-12-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

The lid has been polished, along with the fall and some bits and pieces.

Il coperchio del pianoforte, quello dei tasti e la maggiorparte dei pezzi sono stati riverniciati e lucidati.

Paderewski and his Erard

2008-10-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a Photo of Paderewski sitting behind his Erard piano.
Paderewski preferred the Erard, using it whenever he could, and called the Steinway his 'enemy' because of the heavy action which caused him to seriously damage one hand.
Another interesting anecdote: Paderewski is noted as saying that few people could make an Erard sing, and he was one of them. A Steinway, on the other hand sings by itself. He also mentioned that he preferred the Erard because it enabled him to play with a 'fine' sound.

Ecco una foto di Paderewski al suo Erard.
Paderewski preferiva l'Erard. Lo ha usato quando poteva, e chiamava il pianoforte Steinway il 'suo nemico' per la meccanica pesante, che gli ha procurato un malessere serio ad una mano.
Un'altro aneddoto interessante: Paderewski disse che poche persone potevano fare cantare un Erard, e lui era uno di queste persone. Uno Steinway, invece canta da solo, disse. Ha anche detto che preferiva l'Erard perche permetteva di suonare con un suono 'fine'.

Side View of Erard

2008-10-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a side view of the piano I'm restoring now, which is being french polished after having been stripped and lightly sanded. This was taken before all the strings were mounted. the piano still needs a few day's worth of polishing.

Ecco una foto del pianoforte Erard che sto restaurando adesso, dopo che e stato riportato al suo colore originale. La foto è stata fatta ancora prima che mettessi le corde. Mancano ancora molte ore di lucidatura, prima che il pianoforte sia pronto.

ACTION almost ready

2008-10-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

The action is almost ready. I have straightened the many twisted keys (normal for Erard of this age) with heat. I have replaced the majority of felt bits in the action including the hammer-rail-rest because they had been destroyed by moth damage, as is often the case for old pianos. The Hammers were refelted by a professional in paris which uses the same machines Erard did and has been refelting Erards for three generations. The underfelt has been kept in original condition. The backchecks have been regulated. Repair to various bits of the mechanism were also executed.

Il meccanismo dell'Erard e quasi pronto. Ho incollato nuovi feltri nella meccanica per sostituire i vecchi che erano stati distrutti da tarme. I martelli sono stati rifeltrati da un esperto a Parigi che rifeltra martelli Erard da tre generazioni ed utilizza le stesse apparecchiature della fabbrica. I sottofeltri gialli e viola sono rimasti intatti, perchè sono essenziali per il suono autentico Erard.
la meccanica è stata regolata secondo le indicazioni di fabbrica Erard, anche se dovrà essere regolata di nuovo una volta che verrà montata nel pianoforte.

Damper Mechanism of 1894 Erard

2008-09-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

To the right we have parts from the Damper Mechanism, which suffered from aged and hardened leather in their original condition. They had been reglued many times and were not working properly.

I decided to take them all off and reglue new leather, reassembling everything.. with Hide Glue, of course..

Below is the finished result.. (click on the photos to enlarge)

In alto si vedono dei pezzi del meccanismo dei smorzi dell'Erard. La pelle che serve per rendere il pezzo mobile si era indurita, ed era stata scollata ed incollata diverse volte.. Io ho tolto tutte le pelli ed ho incollato pelle nuova con colla calda per ripristinare il funzionamento del meccanismo come nuovo.

In basso il risultato finito.. (cliccate sulla foto per ingrandire)

1894 Erard restoration

2008-09-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of an 1894 Erard I am restoring. The Strings have all been replaced with special French-made steel wire similar to the original Firminy wire. The bass strings have been specially wound with single-wound brass all the way to the bottom note!

The trichord section is copper-wound just like the originals. I have measured the original strings with a high-precision digital micrometer to ensure that the scale is exactly the same as the original Paris Erard scale was.

Tuning pins were not as tight as they should be after 100+ years, so I used new pins which are only 0.3 mm larger, and will grip the wood better because the thread is new and sharp.

The agraffes have all been removed, cleaned, and the holes have been reamed to ensure a perfect contact with the string. The 'Barre Harmonique' (an Erard invention, as the Agraffe), also known as the pressure bar, has been removed and the bearing edge has been restored to a smooth surface, to avoid buzzes and undue lack of sustain.

All felt is new.

Ecco il mio Erard del 1894 con le sue corde nuove in acciaio Francese. Le corde sono simili alle originali Firminy, e sono superiori a quelle usate solitamente da i riparatori di marca Pure sound.

Le corde dei bassi sono state fatte con un SINGOLO avvolgimento fino alla nota più bassa come le originali.. ci sono voluti due anni per trovare un artigiano capace di farmele! le corde del tenore sono avvolte in rame, esattamente come quelle originali.

le agraffe sono state rimosse, pulite, ed i buchi passanti rettificati per assicurare un contatto perfetto con la corda. La barra di pressione, o 'Barre Armonique' (invenzione dell'Erard, come le Agraffe) e stata rettificata per ottenere un perfetto punto di contatto con le corde ed evitare suoni sgradevoli.

i feltri rossi sono nuovi.

Pleyel Grand piano

2008-08-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

This Pleyel Grand is peculiar because it still had the original early Felt which was used by Pleyel. Up until that time hammers were made with an external layer of very soft and resiliant vegetable-tanned leather.

The original owners of this piano were the Russian princes De Rumine who settled in Lausanne.

This piano is currently awaiting restoration.

1845 Broadwood 8-foot Concert Grand

2008-08-27T04:12:00.000-07:00

This is an 1845 Broadwood, similar to the one Chopin played in England for his last tour, which was at the time part of the hire fleet.

The first person to have hired the piano was Lady Charlotte Canning, AKA Viscountess Canning, Lady In Waiting to Queen Victoria. The second person was Lindsay Sloper, a famous (at the time) Pianist, who was one of the very few students which Chopin received in England in 1848. Sloper also holds a place in Chopin's history as being the man who presented Jane Stirling to him.

Another curious Chopin-related fact is that the Piano was only down the Block from Chopin's Piccadilly apartment in 1848, at Leon Jablonski's home.. aPolish Patriot responsible for translating Conrad Wallenrod in English. Chopin used this famous Polish bit of literature as the foundation for one of his Ballades.

Knowing that Chopin usually went to call on his fellow patriots, it is likely that he may have had played this piano .

The Piano has had some major work done to it, and is still undergoing restoration.. we'll see how it turns out in a few months!

1890 Erard

2008-08-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

This is my lovely late-period Erard, which is great for playing all kinds of music composed until 1900.

It is the same kind as used by all Classical musicians in the 1800's. It can be thought of as the Steinway of the 19° century..

the touch is relatively light, with double-escapement.. it has parallel-stringing, which gives it a balanced and harmonious tone.. and it makes you work hard to express yourself because the sound is dry, clear and elegant..