[CAUT] Montal

[Fred Sturm]

	Just a wee bit more about Montal, for those interested. There is an  
article about him in the Routledge Encyclopedia of the Piano with some  
details I didn't know. In 1834, he very quickly wrote (dictated) and  
published a short book on piano tuning, to forestall one of his  
students who was about to publish a book based on Montal's method.  
This 1834 book was translated into German and appeared in 1835 (and  
apparently Rosamund Harding found a copy). In 1836, Montal completed  
and published a much more substantial book, with details about repairs  
and adjustments, and about the latest developments in piano  
manufacture and design. This book was re-issued in several editions  
over the next decade or two.
	The same article talks a little about Montal's career as a piano  
manufacturer and inventor. One interesting tidbit: he used Erard's  
double escapement action in his square pianos. I've never seen such a  
thing in a square, other than a Mathuschek spinet grand of the mid  
20th century. Perhaps it was different in Europe. And a biography of  
Montal was published in 1857, eight years before his death. All of  
this attests to his importance in the piano world of Paris during his  
lifetime.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu