Adventures with Beethoven
Scene Three
Beethoven’s Pianos
Beethoven was an extraordinary pianist, perhaps one of the most gifted and virtuosic performers of all time. He also wrote widely for piano, completing thirty-five piano sonatas during his lifetime. In these works, he pushed the limits of what the piano could do. Often he was disappointed with the pianos he played. Beethoven always wanted more; a bigger range of notes, the ability to create a larger dynamic range, and a sturdier piano that would stand up to his banging.
Beethoven used all the instruments available to him and many piano makers sought out his approval. He readily utilized the changes made to the instrument. When new notes were added, he began including them in his sonatas. This required the public who wanted to play his works as he intended to buy the new instruments. Beethoven owned and used five or six different pianos regularly, although he probably tried many others. Of these, three pianos still exist and are displayed in museums: an Érard in Linz, Austria; a Broadwood in Budapest, Hungary; and a Graf at the Beethoven museum in Bonn, Germany (for which there is currently a campaign to fund a restoration of the instrument).
Beethoven’s Pianos: Érard, from Pianist Magazine
Beethoven’s Pianos: Graf, from Pianist Magazine
Beethoven’s Pianos: Broadwood, from Pianist Magazine
His pianos were made by various makers throughout Europe, including Austrian, French, and English styles. Each had specific features that made the instrument unique. Pianos were a fairly new invention in Beethoven’s day, the first piano was invented in Italy around 1700, only seventy years before Beethoven’s birth. Instrument makers were still developing the techniques and mechanisms that would evolve into the piano we recognize today. (Learn more about the History of the Piano in a later Adventure!)
Craftsmen of the day were continually innovating, adding new keys, techniques, and features to their instruments to try and make them stand out from the competition. Three cities became known for their pianos: Vienna, London, and Paris. Each city had several noted manufacturers and Beethoven was lucky enough to have instruments from each city that he was able to use regularly. Like today, companies were eager to have a celebrity endorsement of their product. Beethoven received many instruments for free in hopes that he would like their instrument and either recommend the instrument or play it in public, giving them Beethoven’s “seal of approval.”
From Germany and Vienna, Beethoven had pianos made by Stein, Graf, Böhm, and Streicher. Johann Andreas Stein began building pianos in Bavaria. His pianos featured an action (the name for the mechanisms that allow the key to move the hammer which strikes the string creating the note) that were very responsive, meaning the note played quickly after the key was struck. After years of work, Stein had created a very good instrument by around 1780. Joseph Böhm made beautiful pianos in Vienna and was involved in the keyboard-maker’s association. One of his pianos was perhaps owned by Napoleon’s second wife, Marie Louise. Conrad Graf began as a cabinet maker, later he became an apprentice piano maker, eventually taking over his master’s shop. Graf was appointed the Royal Piano and Keyboard Maker for the Imperial court in Vienna. He was one of the first piano manufacturers to mass produce his instruments, using an assembly line where each worker had a specific job, much like Henry Ford would do with automobiles in 1913. Beethoven appreciated the sturdy pianos Graf made, which were much stronger than many of the other instrument he used. Streicher pianos were made by Nannette, Stein’s daughter, who took over the family business. Her pianos were well made and were among Beethoven’s favorites, a fact he confided to Streicher near the end of his life. The Streicher family became close friends with Beethoven, with Streicher serving as Beethoven’s household manager for a while, taking care of his everyday needs to allow him more time to compose.
Sebastien Érard made pianos in his workshop in Paris until he was forced to flee to London during the French Revolution due to his relationship with the French royal family (Marie Antoinette owned several of his instruments.) While in London Érard learned about the English style of piano and adapted some of their technologies to his instruments. He also made very fine harps, contributing greatly to the advancement of that instrument’s capabilities. Érard returned to Paris in 1812 and reopened his workshop. He spent the rest of his life perfecting his versions of the piano and harp. Other well-known composers who owned Érard pianos included Chopin, Fauré, Liszt, Wagner, and Ravel.
Beethoven received a Broadwood grand piano from England in 1817. The Broadwood firm began as a harpsichord company started by a Swiss immigrant to England named Burkat Shudi. A young man called John Broadwood joined the firm, he eventually married Shudi’s daughter and took over the company following Shudi’s death. Broadwood pianos were known for technical innovations in creating a high quality action. The piano also had thicker hammers that provided more dynamic ability, a thicker soundboard that created more volume, and higher quality pedals. Some scholars believe that the Broadwood piano was Beethoven’s favorite because of its more robust nature; however, by the time he received this instrument, his hearing was so poor he probably could not appreciate the tone quality of the instrument. To allow him to hear the instrument at least a little, Beethoven added a shell around the instrument to help make it even louder.
Beethoven wildly playing the piano, by Anton Rubinstein
There are many stories about how rough Beethoven was on his instruments, especially as his hearing loss progressed. We might imagine Beethoven, his hair and eyes wild as he pounded on the instrument, breaking strings, in an attempt to hear something. There are stories that he removed the legs from his instruments so he could feel the vibrations of the strings through the floor. Although Beethoven tried many things to deal with his hearing loss, these depictions probably aren’t entirely accurate. Beethoven’s three remaining pianos all have their legs. But Beethoven really did use his pianos and they were much weaker than our modern instruments, so breaking strings does seem plausible.
Beethoven’s writing for piano is virtuosic and emotional. It requires much of the performer and can take a lifetime to master. Sonatas were often seen as works that were appropriate to play at home or for a small audience. The grandeur and style of Beethoven’s work made them appropriate for the concert hall as well. They have so much technique that they are often used by non-pianists to study music theory and structure. In fact, my textbook for my third year of college music theory was Volume I of Beethoven’s piano sonatas.