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My question(s):
1. Is there much difference in the maintenance and regulation of these
instruments compared to the modern grand?
2. What about the tuning? Stability, pitch level, etc.
3. Is there someplace I can get information about all this?
4. What are good brands/sources?
Hi Avery,
I asked Steve Birkett the same sort of questions last year, and I will
post his reply below. Steve seems to be operating at the top of the field in
these matters.
> Could you give me some idea of the cost and time involved in
> obtaining an instrument that would be representative of the genre
> between 1750 and 1840?
Birkett responds, (with a few snips for brevity)
Let's say you really do want to cover the whole shot of 1750 to 1840
with
one piano. That means you would need a 6 1/2 octave instrument, simply to
have the compass for late Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin etc. I would
probably suggest an 1826 Graf, which is still close enuf in spirit to the
turn-of-the-century, more so than an 1840 viennese piano like a J.B.
Streicher. The latter is wonderful for romantic repertoire, but a little
bit too robust for 18th Century stuff. You will inevitably lose a lot of
the intimacy and subtleness with anything but a five octave 18th Century
piano for Mozart, Haydn etc. but it would be so much better than a modern
piano for sure, especially the Graf. His pianos didn't really change very
much from 1820 to 1840.
Any choice is always a compromise, of course. This is absolutely
unavoidable, unless you have a museum.
A few general remarks on this subject while we are at it...let's remove
the constraint of a single piano for all, and talk about ideals.
I would say a reproduction piano is best for models before about 1830-40.
Earlier than that, antique pianos are in short supply, so preservation for
research purposes is preferable to restoration. Also really old pianos
tend to be troublesome, simply because of their age, fragile, and it is
not worth the risk involved with using one for routine performance.
Pre-1800 Viennese fortepianos are rather expensive to buy too, even in
dilapidated condition. A good reproduction will almost certainly give a
better performing instrument than a restored antique in any case. These
considerations are magnified considerably for pianos that are to be used
in institutions, especially when student musicians are involved.
Now, for something like a mid-19th century French or Viennese piano (1850
say) antiques can be made to work very well, and they are available in
reasonably large numbers. My local university (Wilfrid Laurier) recently
purchased a fully restored 1847 J.B.Streicher which is a treat, and it
seems to work well in the univ. setting, although it is kept under lock
and key in the professor's studio...it is used regularly for concerts and
students get to play it. The reproduction market for pianos of this
vintage is new territory (simply because the customer base isn't
established, not for technical reasons) - a repro piano ot this type would
cost about the same as a properly restored antique.
I generally describe four possible Viennese piano-types:
1. Checkless (ie. no backcheck) 5 octave
The *proper* piano for pre-classical (e.g. CPE Bach, Ekhart etc.) and
classical covering all Haydn and Mozart. Originals pre-1800 generally,
although Streicher continued to make such as this as late as 1805. The
piano on which to teach proper fortepiano playing technique. Originals are
fast, quite loud (sic), with lightning quick actions that can respond with
a huge expressive range. Contrary to general opinion the checkless action
does not bounce at all, as long as the geometry is right and the
regulation is right. Very limited modern reproductions of this type of
piano (good ones at least). Not well understood by many modern builders,
nor by modern fortepianists. A particular interest of mine. I can make an
authentic 1784 Stein copy (which is nothing like the "Steins" you see in
concerts from time to time) based on an unaltered original in Stuttgart
that I have examined on many occasions. Alternatively I offer a 1795
Schiedmayer (still checkless) with hollow hammer heads, bit more robust,
based on an original in Nurnberg. Both are superb instruments and very
different from the "standard fare" you see.
2. 5 octave with backchecks.
The ubiquitous "generic" modern fortepiano... although many you see are
far from anything like originals, in either feel or sound. Range is FF to
f3 (some later ones have to g3). Typical of ca 1800 repertoire up to Op 53
Beethoven. Knee levers rather than pedals. I can make an authentic copy of
a ca 1800 Walter of this type, FF to g3. This type of action is favoured
by modern pianists, since they can get away with Steinway technique more
safely without sounding bad. ie. you can bang and still get a
respectable sound out of it.
3. 6 octave.
FF to f4. Typical of 1810s pianos, although Streicher made a 6.5 octave as
early as 1807, and continued to make 6 octaves into the 1830s. Covers all
of Schubert (with minor exceptions that need the low EE). All Beethoven
prior to the last five sonatas. My current order is a copy of a 6 octave (plus
low EE) 1814 Streicher, original in Stuttgart.
4. 6.5 octave.
CC to f4 (sometimes g4). The "standard" Viennese piano from 1820 to 1840
(if such a thing can be defined). Last five Beethoven sonatas use the
extra bass notes. You can cover all repertoire to Schumann, most of
Chopin, and much of Brahms (as you move into the post-1850 Romantic period
the lower than CC notes tend to appear). There are other considerations
apart from range. For instance Grafs from 1820 to 1840 are essentially
the same basic design, but there are subtle changes in tonal
characteristics, wound strings appeared etc. The 6 and 6.5 octave
Streichers from the 1810s are essentially the same, and subtley different
from those of the 1820s. I can make authentic copies of Streichers from
any period. Also Grafs of 1826 and 1839, the latter very close to
Schumann's own piano.
>From a cost/construction perspective you can divide the mainstream into
two types: small (5 octave) and big (6+ octave). There is almost as much
work on a 6 octave as a 6.5, but quite a bit less on a 5 octave. A
music school should make the initial decision (often based on budget
available, but also on intended use) whether a classical (5 octave) or
romantic (6+ octave) piano is wanted. From there the details of which
specific
type is most appropriate can be sorted out.
To return to your original question, viz. a single piano to cover 1750 to
1840 repertoire, I would not hesitate to suggest a copy of the 1826 Graf for
this purpose. As i said above, though, cost of such a beast is pretty
high end - in the $60,000 Can. range, i.e. about $40,000 US. Not so bad,
I guess, when you consider the cost of a new Steinway!
Hope this information is useful.
Stephen Birkett Fortepianos
Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos
464 Winchester Drive
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2T 1K5
tel: 519-885-2228
email: birketts@wright.aps.uoguelph.ca
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