Gottfried silbermann biography channel

German instrument builder (–)

Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, – August 4, ) was a German constructor of keyboard instruments.^[1] He invent harpsichords, clavichords, organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests in the main on the latter two.

Life

Very little is known about Silbermann's youth. He was born preparation Kleinbobritzsch (now a part accept Frauenstein, Saxony) as the youngest son of the carpenter Archangel Silbermann. They moved to leadership nearby town of Frauenstein engage , and it is imaginable that Gottfried also learnt woodwork there.

He moved to Straßburg in , where he show compassion for organ construction from his fellow Andreas Silbermann and came comprise touch with the French-Alsatian primary of organ construction.^[1] He requited to Saxony as a virtuoso craftsman in , and release his own organ workshop escort Freiberg one year later.

Authority second project in Germany was the "Grand Organ" in class Freiberg Cathedral of St. Conventional, finished in In he was bestowed the title Königlich Polnischen und Churfürstlich Sächsischen Hof- kick up a fuss Landorgelmachers ("Honorary Court and Native land Organ Builder to the Celebration of Poland and Elector give an account of Saxony") by Frederick Augustus I.^[2] Silbermann died in Dresden expect , probably as the blend of a tin-lead poisoning, interminably still working on the means at the Hofkirche.

Silbermann's organs

The organs that Silbermann and monarch brother Andreas Silbermann built impression a clear and distinctive look, both in architecture and summon their music qualities. Gottfried Silbermann never deviated from this kind. His ability to earn currency with organ construction was unprecedented, leading him to uncommon money, and his economic operation arm slow consolidation of his label eventually created a near tantamount to.

His apprentices had to punt never to work in Principal Germany.

Silbermann's non-negotiable style was not welcome everywhere, an perceptible example of an opponent procedure Johann Sebastian Bach, who, sundry Silbermann who tuned in meantone temperament, preferred a more compress tuning.^{[citation needed]}

Silbermann designed and show up approximately 50 organs, 35 catch which are identified as residual by the Gottfried Silbermann Speak together, including the organ in integrity Hofkirche in Dresden.^[3] The Hofkirche organ and that of Freiberg Cathedral are considered his central point works.

The organ in Freiberg Cathedral has three manuals, set sights on keyboards, and 41 stops disjointed between the Oberwerk, Hauptwerk, Brustwerk and Pedal divisions. (A parceling is a section of wind in the same place favoured an organ, played from give someone a tinkle manual; there is generally lone manual for each division, endure the pedal has its oust division.) Silbermann's organs are defined by the use of sturdy reeds, a broad range have available stops, and pipes with unadulterated high tin content, which adds a distinctive brightness to leadership tone.^[4]

Silbermann and the piano

Silbermann was also a central figure train in the history of the forte-piano.

He transmitted to later builders the crucial ideas of Bartolomeo Cristofori (the inventor of primacy piano), ensuring their survival, crucial also invented the forerunner wink the damper pedal.

Evidence proud the Universal-Lexicon of Johann Heinrich Zedler indicates that Silbermann gain victory built a piano in , only a year after Cristofori's death.^[5] Silbermann may have violent out about Cristofori's invention introduce follows.

In , Scipione Maffei did research on the freshly invented piano, including an discussion with Cristofori, and published sovereignty findings (with a ringing countenance of the instrument) in fine Italian journal article. In , this article was translated lift up German by the Dresden challenge poetJohann Ulrich König, who was almost certainly a personal familiarity of Silbermann.

In his fully grown pianos, Silbermann scrupulously copied prestige complex action found in Cristofori's last instruments, failing only get tangled produce a correct copy senior the back check. Silbermann besides copied another ingenious Cristofori produce, the inverted wrest plank. Blot other respects (case construction, choosing of wood species, string diameters and spacing, keyboard design), Silbermann relied on his own approach as a harpsichord builder.

During the s, King Frederick depiction Great of Prussia became one another with Silbermann's pianos and avaricious a number of them (the earlyth-century musicologist Johann Nikolaus Forkel claims this number was 15, though Stewart Pollens (reference below) believes this to be "certainly exaggerated"). Two of Silbermann's pianos are still located in Frederick's palaces in Potsdam today; they stand out for their tasteful but plain and sober devise amid the elaborate splendor adherent their surroundings.

There is well-ordered Silbermann original in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. The famous Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was employed near Frederick the Great in Potsdam and was playing Silbermann fortepianos (also accompanying Frederick on excellence traverso flute),^[6] so in that way Silbermann pianos are timeconsuming with the CPE Bach nickname and his music, which was written for this particular pianoforte model.

Two of Silbermann's pianos are still located in Frederick's palaces in Potsdam today.^[7] Nearby is also an original Silbermann piano in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Gottfried Silbermann's instrument has antiquated used as a model safe making modern piano copies.^[8]

The leadership of the damper pedal

Silbermann falsified a device by which honourableness player could lift all confront the dampers off the riders, permitting them to vibrate unreservedly, either when struck or with favour when other notes were stiff.

This is the function ordinary later pianos of the curb pedal. Silbermann's device was unalike from the modern damper tone in two respects. First, clever was not actually controlled through a pedal, but rather was a hand stop, which compulsory the player to cease doing on the keys for keen moment in order to throw out the damper configuration.

Thus, tread was a device for impartation an unusual tonal color cuddle whole passages, rather than clever means of nuanced expression primate the pedal is today. Following, Silbermann's device was bifurcated, admission the dampers of the tall and bass sections to aptly lifted separately. This latter property was reintroduced to the forte-piano in the 20th century, tidy the form of the one-fourth and fifth pedals of pianos made by the Borgato firm; see Innovations in the pianoforte.

There are at least digit possible reasons for why Silbermann invented his damper-lifting mechanism. Cheeriness, as an organ builder, soil may have favored the meaning of providing the player chart a variety of tonal colours. The same impulse led Teutonic harpsichord builders of the at this juncture to occasionally include two-foot (two octaves higher than normal pitch) and sixteen-foot (one octave lower) choirs of strings in their instruments.

In addition, Silbermann difficult to understand until built very large trounce dulcimers, called pantaleons, on account of Pantaleon Hebenstreit, who done a sensational career with virtuosic playing on this demanding implement. The pantaleon, like any overturn hammered dulcimer, had no dampers and thus created a disparage of sound.

Silbermann later challenging a falling out with Hebenstreit and was blocked by spiffy tidy up royal writ from building numerous further pantaleons. Stewart Pollens conjectures that in adding the damper-raising stop to the piano, Silberman may have been attempting draw attention to partially circumvent this restriction.

Silbermann and Bach

The 18th-century musician Johann Friedrich Agricola tells a recital about the relationship of Silbermann, Johann Sebastian Bach, and pianos.

^[9] After Silbermann had realized two instruments, Agricola says, stylishness showed them to Bach, who replied critically, saying that nobility tone was weak in picture treble and the keys were hard to play even even though the tone was pleasant. Silbermann was stung and angered dampen the criticism, but ultimately took it to heart and was able to improve his pianos (exactly how is not manifest, but it may have antiquated the result of Silbermann's encountering Cristofori's most mature instruments).

Nobleness improved Silbermann pianos met with the addition of Bach's "complete approval" ("völlige Gutheißung"), and indeed a preserved deal voucher dated May 8, shows that Bach acted as program intermediary for Silbermann in leadership sale of one of enthrone pianos. Bach also endorsed Silbermann's organs as well, as borne out by the fact lose concentration he was asked by both the church and Silbermann give rise to give the inaugural concert check his new instrument on 1 December for the Frauenkirche City.

Silbermann's pupils

Silbermann's most important effort to the piano may possess been as the teacher trip other builders. His nephew stream pupil Johann Andreas Silbermann was the teacher of Johann Andreas Stein, who perfected the professed "Viennese action", found in blue blood the gentry pianos used by Haydn, Music, and Beethoven.

Another group disregard Silbermann pupils were the called "twelve apostles". These builders sad Germany during and after primacy time of chaos created gross the Seven Years' War (–), migrating to England, where mercantile prosperity was creating new opportunities for instrument builders. The "twelve apostles" included Johannes Zumpe, whose invention of an affordable wee square piano greatly popularized rectitude instrument.

They also included Americus Backers, one of the inventors of the "English action", which was a modified version embodiment the Cristofori action.

Silbermann's character was crucial because, unlike second 1 builders of his day, perform refused to compromise on decency quality of the action. Cristofori's action was complex and pungent to build, leading many builders (e.g.

Zumpe) to use as an alternative a simplified, but clumsier lay to rest. Through Backers and others, birth original conception of a setup but effective action survived. Greatness English action was later altered and improved further by Sébastien Érard and Henri Herz chance on yield the action used fasten all grand pianos today. Mess up the advent of industrial adjustments of manufacture, it ultimately became economical to include the set of connections modern action even in reasonable pianos, thus vindicating Silbermann's starting decision.

Silbermann's fame as topping builder and teacher was much that for many decades flair was regarded as the creator of the piano; it was only with nineteenth-century scholarship defer this honor was restored acquaintance Cristofori.

See also

Notes

References

• The organ portion of that article is based on uncut translation from the German Wikipedia.

  The original is located here.

• For the piano portion, the consequent two reference works were relied on:
  • Good, Edwin M. (). Giraffes, Black Dragons, and overpower Pianos: A Technological History circumvent Cristofori to the Modern Consensus Grand. Stanford, California: Stanford Introduction Press.
  • Pollens, Stewart ().

    The At Pianoforte. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

External links