Pyramid Piano by Friederici, C E

Friederici (Friderici) was a distinguished family of keyboard instrument makers specialising in clavichords, harpsichords, and early pianos. Originally from the Tyrol region of Austria, the family later settled in Germany, eventually establishing themselves in Gera, Saxony.

The brothers Christian Ernst Friederici (1709–1780) and Christian Gottfried Friederici (1714–1777) worked together as instrument makers. Christian Ernst is believed to have trained under the renowned builder Gottfried Silbermann in Freiberg. His instruments earned widespread admiration, including praise from C. P. E. Bach, while members of the Mozart family were also known to value his clavichords highly.

Christian Ernst is particularly notable for producing some of the earliest known pyramid pianos, an innovative upright form that became popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Although no instruments by Christian Gottfried are known to survive, Christian Ernst's surviving works remain important examples of early German keyboard craftsmanship. Photo Credit: Daderot Wikicommons