Not enough dampers

[John Delacour]

At 10:07 PM +0000 12/5/01, Phillip L Ford wrote:

>No offense John, but half the time I don't know what you're talking 
>about.  I always imagined that I had had above average exposure to 
>pianos but before you mentioned them in this or other posts I had 
>never heard of a Lipp piano, a Keller action, a Fritz & Mayer 
>action, a Bechstein 8 (I have heard of Bechstein I think), etc. 
>Could you recommend some references for remedial reading?

Well I'm as much in the dark when it comes to American pianos because 
very few American pianos have ever reached Europe and I guess most 
that did belonged to Americans.  The American pianos I've seen, 
including New York Steinways have not given me a yearning to see many 
more, though the name of Chickering springs to mind as one I'd love 
to get acquainted with.  Keller and Fritz & Mayer were two Stuttgart 
action makers.  Renner are in Stuttgart but were very late on the 
scene and did not exist (thank goodness) in the "best period" (pre 
1914).  There were many German action makers and in Paris there was 
Herrburger-Schwander (Alsatians like Erard) who were only a year 
behind Isermann, the first, and set the standard for the whole 
industry, in America as well.  The Stuttgart action makers had a 
fairly local clientele.  Lipp of Stuttgart was one of the very best 
German makers, though smaller than the two very famous Schiedmayer 
factories in Stuttgart.  I know many tuners who think the Lipp 
upright was the best upright ever, and they're not far wrong.

Richard and Isaac and Stephen and other Europeans on the list will be 
quite familiar with what I'm talking about -- it's just bread and 
butter to European technicians.  I know of no reference work that can 
give any idea of the variety and quality of European (mainly German) 
pianos and all I know I've picked up by actually working on them and 
getting to know them as intimate friends or tiresome acquaintances.

Dolge's book "Pianos and their Makers" gives a pretty good sketch of 
all the important European makers, many of whom he knew, and 
Wainwright's book on Broadwood gives some interesting and often 
detailed insights into the development of the industry particularly 
in the early days before the Germans and Americans came on the scene 
in a big way.

As to Bechstein, well Steinway didn't get much of a look in in Europe 
while he held sway.  Before the war they were THE piano.  The family 
backed the wrong side with rather too much enthusiasm in the 40's and 
things began to change for them.  For every Steinway in England there 
are probably 100 Bechsteins and they still command a good price.

JD