konzerte04-pressemappe.pdf - Berliner Festspiele

een hitherto a general practice in pianoforte making to lay the strings or wires on the bridge of the
sounding board with a pressure tending to press away the sound board, and it follows, that in course
of time, the power of resistance which the sounding board is capable of opposing to that pressure
of the wires upon it becomes lessened, and its power to produce free and pure vibrations reduced.
These alterations from the original construction obviously prove injurious to the vibrations of the
sounding board, and consequently tend to alter the quality of the tone of the instrument. In order to
remedy such defect, I adopt a different principle of laying the wires on or against the sounding board,
such principle consisting in making some of the wires or strings to press with a tendency to force the
bridge in one direction, and an equal number of others to force the bridge in an opposite direction.
And I would here state, that I am aware that it has before been proposed to have wires on either side
of the bridge, with a view to counteract or balance the pressure on either side of the bridge; but such
plan, in addition in some cases having a double quantity of strings or wires, has other objections, and
I consider the plan of construction employed hitherto is ineffi cient. An explanation of such former
mode is shown by the Diagram No. 1, the strings being in two planes (b) (a), (b) (c). The Diagram No.
2 shows the principle of my improved plan, in which all the strings between the points of vibration
(b) and (a) being in one plane, the mechanical arrangements for adjusting the pressure of the wires
towards and away from the sounding board according to my invention may be varied.
Figure 1 shows a plan view of strings (a) belonging to four notes in the sixth octave of a grand pianoforte.
At (d) are metal studs (originally patented by me) through which the strings pass to be fi xed
on the wrest plank. Instead of applying pins so arranged or fi xed into the bridge on the sounding
board as to cause the strings to be bent sideways, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, I so apply studs (f),
(e), (c), or suitable instruments, that the wires shall be bent in a direction to and from the bridge,
so that in drawing them tight to tune them they shall exert their force partly to draw the bridge, and
consequently the sound board, towards the strings, and partly to force the bridge, and consequently
the sound board, away from the strings, and so as to keep the vibrating parts of the strings (c), (d), in
one plane. The middle stud (e) on the bridge stands higher or lower than the front one (c) and back
one (f) and serves to give to the string passing through the perforated holes in these studs a bent or
an angular direction, either towards or away from the bridge, as maybe required to adjust or equalise
the pressure of the strings on the bridge of the sounding board. The stud (f) is kept on a level with
the one (c), so as to give to the string the due tension on the bridge, and insure a pure intonation
when the string is put in vibration. These respective positions of the studs and of the 20 wires on
the bridge will be more readily understood by reference to Figure 2, representing two sections taken
through Figure 1 at the dotted lines 1, 1, and 2, 2, respectively. In order to adjust or equalise the pressure
of the wires on or against the bridge of the sounding board, the bends or angles of the three
wires of one note are caused to be towards the bridge. (See section taken at 2,2.) whilst in the next
note the bands or angles of the wires are caused to be away from the bridge. (See section taken at
1, 1.) The studs may be fi xed into the same board by screws or otherwise, and they may be formed
as shown, or in any convenient manner, so long as the construction is such that each string or wire
may be bent in a direction towards or from the bridge and sound board, and so as to admit of the
vibrating parts of the strings to be in the same plane. And I would remark, that although the drawing
shows the invention applied only to part of a grand pianoforte, a workman, from the above description,
will readily apply the improvements to other construction of pianofortes.“
Franz Liszt is said to have played a six-octave Erard piano in Paris in 1824. Erard put him under
contract from about this time until 1825, so when he toured England they sponsored him and he
played their pianos. Their grands in 1824 cost 3000 francs, but the price went down 10 years later to
2500 francs. They went up in 1843 from 3000 until they were 3500 francs in 1852, by which time the
seven-octave piano was quite common.
In June of 1825 Pierre Erard showed the new action to the pianist Moscheles. Also in that year Pierre