Carl Lachmund and August Gollerich reported on Liszt masterclasses for the periods
1882-1884 and 1884, respectively.
INNOVATIONS
Innovations in piano building
During 1790 to 1860 the Mozart piano underwent major changes leading to the modern
form of the instrument. This was in response to a consistent preference by composers
and pianists for a more powerful and sustained piano sound. It was also a response to the
ongoing Industrial Revolution which made available high quality steel for strings and
precision casting for the production of iron frames. The range of the piano was also
increased from the five octaves of Mozart’s day to the 7 " octaves of the modern piano.
Early technological progress owed much to the English firm of Broadwood, which
already had a reputation for the splendour and powerful tone of its harpsichords.
Broadwood built instruments which were progressively larger, louder and more robustly
constructed. Broadwood sent pianos to both Haydn and Beethoven and was the first firm
to build pianos with a range of more than five octaves: five and a fifth in the 1790s, six
by 1800 (Beethoven used the extra notes in his later works) and seven by 1820. The
Viennese makers followed these trends but their instruments had more sensitive piano
actions.
By the 1820s the centre of innovation had shifted to Paris where the Erard firm
manufactured pianos used by Chopin and Liszt. Sébastien Erard invented the double
escapement action, which permitted a note to be repeated, even if the key had not yet
risen to its maximum vertical position, and facilitated rapid playing. When the invention
became public, as revised by Henri Herz, the double escapement action gradually became
standard in all pianos.
The piano underwent other major technical innovations in the nineteenth century. Three
strings, rather than two, came to be used for all but the lower notes. The iron frame, also
called the plate, sat atop the soundboard and served as the primary bulwark against the
force of string tension. The iron frame was the ultimate solution to the problem of
structural integrity as the strings were gradually made thicker, tenser and more numerous.
The single piece cast iron frame was patented in 1825 in Boston by Alpheus Babcock. It
combined the metal hitch pin, claimed in 1821 by Broadwood on behalf of Samuel Hervé,
and the resisting bars, claimed in 1820 by Thorn and Allen but also claimed by
Broadwood and Erard. Babcock later worked for the Chickering & Mackays firm which
patented the first full iron frame for the grand piano in 1843. Composite forged metal
frames were preferred by many European makers until the American system was fully
adopted by the early twentieth century.
Felt hammer coverings were first introduced by Henri Pape in 1826 and they gradually
replaced the previous layered leather hammers. Felt hammer coverings were more