Concave Piano

Among the many experiments that shaped the development of the modern piano, few are as visually striking as the curved keyboard. In 1882, the German piano manufacturer W. Neuhaus Söhne of Kalkar produced an unusual upright piano featuring a concave keyboard — an ambitious attempt to rethink the relationship between the pianist and the instrument.

The idea behind the curved keyboard was simple but revolutionary: instead of forcing the player’s hands to reach across a straight line of keys, a concave arrangement would place every note at a more natural distance from the body. The curved design followed the natural movement of the arms and hands, potentially allowing greater comfort and freedom of movement across the keyboard.

The instrument was built by W. Neuhaus Söhne, a piano-making firm based in Kalkar, in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. The company traced its origins to Wilhelm Neuhaus, who established the piano factory in the nineteenth century. The Neuhaus family later became connected with the famous Russian pianist and teacher Heinrich Neuhaus, whose grandfather and family roots came from this German piano-making tradition.

The 1882 upright piano represents a fascinating moment in piano history when makers were not only improving sound production and construction methods but also questioning the fundamental design of the keyboard itself. The nineteenth century saw many experiments with alternative keyboard layouts, from curved designs to more radical systems intended to make playing easier and more ergonomic.

The 1882 upright piano represents a fascinating moment in piano history when makers were not only improving sound production and construction methods but also questioning the fundamental design of the keyboard itself. The nineteenth century saw many experiments with alternative keyboard layouts, from curved designs to more radical systems intended to make playing easier and more ergonomic.

Although the concave keyboard never replaced the traditional straight keyboard, the idea continued to attract inventors and musicians. Similar concepts reappeared in later experiments, including the curved keyboards associated with makers and designers of the early twentieth century.

Today, the Neuhaus Söhne concave keyboard piano is preserved in the collection of the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels, where it stands as a reminder of the creativity and curiosity of nineteenth-century piano makers. It is not simply an unusual-looking instrument, but evidence of a period when craftsmen were asking an important question: could the piano itself be redesigned around the human body?

Photo Credit: P. Hermans. wikicommons