Göllerich was a pianist, teacher, conductor, writer, and specialist on the music of Liszt
and Bruckner. He compiled the first catalogue of Liszt’s compositions and wrote part of
a published Liszt biography. He left many diaries, pictures and manuscripts, including
six diaries containing notes about Liszt’s piano masterclasses in Weimar, Rome and
Budapest. Göllerich did not make any discs or rolls.
GRACE NOTES
A grace note is a small note that falls before the beat. When properly notated it is a small
note with a slash through the stem. There are other small notes. In Haydn, Clementi,
Mozart, Beethoven, Czerny and other composers of that period they should be interpreted
as an appoggiatura, quick appoggiatura or an acciaccatura (which is very short).
Sometimes these ornaments are printed with a slash across the stem which is incorrect.
In choosing which one to play regard may be had to the hand sense and the musical sense.
In music of the romantic and contemporary eras the little note is usually a true grace note
and if those composers want an acciaccatura or a quick appoggiatura they will usually
write it out in specific note values. Schumann writes the grace notes in the previous bar
which is when they are played.
In Mozart is common to find a little note with no slash through its stem, followed by a
quaver and two semiquavers, as in the main theme of the Rondo alla Turca. The first
note is treated as an appoggiatura, which takes half the value of the following note, and
hence the four notes are played as four semiquavers. Mozart was not consistent in his
notation but, whatever method of notation. It meant the same to him and to those of his
era.
In general, in Chopin grace notes come on the beat and in Schumann and Liszt they come
before the beat.
GRAND PIANOS
The modern piano exists in two forms: the grand piano and the upright piano. The term
‘grand’ was first used in 1777. Almost every modern piano has 88 keys (seven octaves
and a minor third, from A0 to C8). Many older pianos only have 85 keys (seven octaves
from A 0 to A 8 ). Some manufacturers, such as Blüthner, extend the range in one or both
directions.
Grand pianos have the frame and strings placed horizontally, with the strings extending
away from the keyboard. The grand piano hammers strike upwards and return by gravity,
hence their return will always remain more consistent than the vertical hammers of the
upright piano, thus giving the pianist better control. All grand pianos have a repetition
lever, a separate one for each key, which catches the hammer close to the key as long as
the keys are played repeatedly and fairly quickly in this position. With the hammer