*
5,5-octave fortepiano after Walter & Sohn 1805, by Paul McNulty 2008
*
Anton Walter (1752 – 1826), who had the title of “Chamber Organ Builder and Instrument Maker in Vienna”, is considered to be the most famous fortepiano maker of his time. He improved the Viennese pianoforte action, which remained a standard for many years. He built about 700 instruments, which were praised for their quality by Mozart, who bought a Walter in 1782, and by Beethoven, who nearly succeeded in buying one in 1802. According to Mozart’s son Carl : “Most remarkable is the wing-shaped Pianoforte for which my father had a special preference to such a degree that he not only wanted to have it in his study all the time, but exclusively used this and no other instrument in all his concerts, regardless of whether they took place in court, in the palaces of noblemen or in theatres or other public places.”
*
Anton Walter was born near Stuttgart in 1752 and became active in Vienna in 1778. When his stepson joined the company in 1800, the firm name was changed from “Anton Walter” to “Anton Walter und Sohn”. The keyboard compass increased, but the basic construction and sound of the instruments stayed the same.
*
The fortepiano shown in this photo was made by Paul McNulty, who is one of the most highly respected builders working today. His instruments, modeled after the fortepianos of J.A. Stein, A.Walter, and C.Graf, are the result of meticulous research of the originals. McNulty fortepianos are owned by many fine players and feature in many recordings.
*
*
*
8-keyed flute after Heinrich Grenser (Dresden, 1764-1813), by Rudolf Tutz
*
Heinrich Grenser apprenticed under his uncle August Grenser, who had already built up a name for himself as an instrument maker. They then worked together, maintaining with tremendous success their high-quality flute, oboes, bassoons, clarinets, and basset-horns. Heinrich took over the workshop in 1796.
*
With its clear and bright sound, this flute (by instrument-maker Rudolf Tutz) has a directness that works beautifully in an orchestral setting, yet it also blends well in wind quintets and ensembles with fortepiano. The 8-keyed flute is an early flute that provides many exciting possibilities for dynamics and colors, particularly for forked fingerings A. Fürstenau’s Die Kunst des Flötenspiels (1844), with its pages of alternate fingerings for each note, is an especially handy reference. This variety of color and fingering is part of what makes this instrument terribly fun to play on works by Beethoven, Haydn, Reicha, Schubert, and Weber, among others.
*
…cello and natural horn information coming soon!…