List of Keyboards
Grand Piano by Graf, C
The instrument is triple strung except for the bottom seven notes, which are double strung; the lowest sixteen notes (of brass wire and brass spun over steel) are mounted on a separate bridge and nut; the Viennese action is of the most developed type, with spring-loaded escapement levers, an escapement-lever rail, hammer check rail, brass kapsels, and leathered, wedge-shaped dampers suspended over the strings by a leathered rack; the hammers are covered with multiple layers of tawed sheep skin; all of the damper and hammer leathers are original and in very good condition; the key and action cloths are all original, though there is moth damage in some areas.
Grand Piano by Graf, C
This grand piano was made by Conrad Graf in Vienna, Austria in 1832. Except for the number of pedals, this piano is essentially a twin of the instrument that Graf presented to musician and composer, Clara Wieck on her marriage to composer Robert Schumann in 1840. The piano is serial number 1594 and has a compass of CC-g4, Viennese action, leather over wood core hammers, brass and steel strings, double- and triple-strung, 5 pedals: una corda, bassoon, moderator, dampers, and janissary, an oak laminated and interlocked bars frame, straight-strung, and a walnut veneer case
Credit: Smithsonian
Grand Piano by Graf, C
It features an extended range of 6.5 octaves (from C₀ to F₆)
It famously incorporates four strings per note (instead of the standard three) to achieve greater volume and dynamic range
Photo Credit: Hbar.cc Wikicommons
Grand Piano by Graf, C
The case is veneered with walnut, rounded corners on three columnar legs. The front two legs are held togeter with a stretcher supporting the lyre. Inscribed in graphite on the soundboard Opus 704.
Technical data:
Inscription: Conrad Graf Wieden No 182
Compass: 6 octaves (FF-f'''')
Keyboard: naturals in bone, sharps in ebony
Pedals: 5: controlling keyboard shift - bassoon - moderator - dampers and janissary-drum - 3 bells
Dimensions: L 238 cm / W 118 cm
Case: walnut
Serial number: 704
Chris Maene Collection number: CM 21 184
Condition: restored to concert level, Chris Maene workshop 2022
Location: 2 - Museum "Chris Maene Collection" Ruiselede
Grand Piano by Graf, C
This splendid 6.5-octave instrument with 80 keys was built in 1834 by Conrad Graf. Its beautiful walnut-veneered oak case is constructed almost entirely of wood, which produces a beautiful, elegant and romantic sound quite different from modern pianos, which are constructed around a metal frame. Identical Graf fortepianos were used by many well-known composers, including Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt and Brahms.
Unusually, this particular model has five pedals, including a so-called “Turkish Pedal” for playing bells and a drum built into in the piano case, instead of the usual four pedals for controlling dampers.
Credit: © Min-On Music Museum