Objekt 14
Fortepiano, Augsburg, 1792
Description
The fortepiano bears the signature of the Augsburg piano maker Johann Andreas Stein and the date 1791 in the form of a printed label on the soundboard. The last digit of the year is inscribed with a 2 in ink.
The instrument was completed in the year of Stein's death, presumably by his daughter Nannette and with the help of his son Matthäus Andreas. They continued to use their father's existing engraved vignettes with the year 1791 until 1794 and overwrote the last digit with the actual date of completion of the instrument.
The fortepiano represents Johann Andreas Stein's late style and is therefore still an instrument from the Mozart era.
At the heart of the instrument is the so-called bruised-tongue action, which is said to have been invented by Stein. This mechanism allows precise playing.
Originally, this fortepiano only had a double knee lever to be operated on the right and left, which canceled the damping so that the strings could resonate unhindered. The additional piano slide, in which strips of cloth are pushed between the hammers and strings, is a later addition.
W. A. Mozart was impressed by both the innovative mechanism and the ease of movement of the damping when he became acquainted with Johann Andreas Stein's fortepianos during a trip to Augsburg in 1777.
Object description
Johann Andreas Stein (1728-1792), completed by daughter Nannette (1769 - 1833) and son Matthäus Andreas (1776 - 1842)
Augsburg, 1792, dated
Jean André Stein / faiseur d'Orgues, des Clavecins / et Organiste à l'Eglise des / Minorittes à Augsbourg / 1791 (printed) with 2 overwritten (handwritten) (label, soundboard, front left)
Cherry veneer (case)
Range F1 - f3; bruiser action; upper damping three knee levers: moderator (center), damper lift (l., r.)
H. 970 mm (total); H. 227-218 mm; W. 960 mm; L. 2615 mm (case); stitch dimension 470 mm; octave dimension 153 mm
Deposit Paul Sacher Foundation, Basel
Inv. no. 1986.112.