The Tangentenflügel and Other Pianos with Non-Pivoting Hammers

• Published in: The Galpin Society journal 2008-04, Vol.61, p.242
• Main Author: Stefano, Giovanni Paolo Di
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 18th century; 19th century; Antiques; Collections; Components; Design; Piano
• ISSN: 0072-0127; 2397-5369

This article traces the diffusion of pianos with a tangent action through and beyond the eighteenth century. Some are primitive harpsichord-to-piano conversions but others are refined pianos with a Stoßmechanik with non-pivoting vertical hammers. Apart from the simple models of Jean Marius around 1716, Christoph Gottlieb Schröter before 1739 probably designed the first sophisticated action with non-pivoting hammers propelled by intermediate levers. However, the most refined eighteenth-century tangent pianos are those known as "Tangentenflügel," built by Franz Jacob Spath and Christoph Friederich Schmahl from Regensburg, and by their followers such as Johann Wilhelm Berner. Tangent pianos were possibly exported from Germany. Pianos of this type made in England and Italy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries may be traceable to the German tradition, but are probably not related directly to the school of Spath and Schmahl. In Italy, pianos with a tangent action were made until the mid-nineteenth century. But in the rest of Europe, this type of action was made only until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The article includes detailed descriptions of many pianos with a tangent action in public and private collections in Europe, the USA and Japan, including "Tangentenflügel" by Spath and Schmahl.