Conrad Graf (17 November 1782 in Riedlingen,

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...

– 18 March 1851 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) was an Austrian-German

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

maker. His pianos were used by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, Chopin,

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

and

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; ; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic music, Romantic era, she exerted her influence o ...

, among others.

Life and career

Graf began his career as a

cabinet maker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

, studying the craft in his native Riedlingen in south Germany, in what was then

. He reached the status of

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

in 1796 and migrated to Vienna in either 1798 or 1799. In 1800 he served briefly in an all-volunteer military unit, the Jäger

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

, then became apprenticed to a piano maker named Jakob Schelkle, who worked in

Währing Währing () is the 18th Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna and lies in northwestern Vienna on the edge of the Vienna Woods. It was formed in 1892 from the unification of the older suburbs of Währing, Weinhaus, Gersthof, Pötzleinsdorf, Neus ...

, then a suburb of

. When Schelkle died in 1804, Graf married his widow Katherina and took over the shop.Source for this paragraph: The Graf family had two children listed in census records: Karalina Schelklin (born 1802), from Katherina's previous marriage, and Juliana Graf (born 1806). Katherina died in 1814, and Graf did not remarry. It is not known how Graf developed his style or methods for building pianos. None of the pianos of his teacher Schelkle survive, and the surviving early Graf instruments are not much different from his fully mature ones. As Wythe says, "Graf's style appears to have emerged fully developed out of an apprenticeship with an obscure provincial maker." The early 19th century was a period of ferment in piano building; Wythe describes the work of contemporary builders as "a volatile blend of traditional craftsmanship and new technology, carried out in an atmosphere of intense competition."Quoted from Graf was successful in this milieu. By 1809, he was employing ten workers. In 1811, he relocated from the original suburban location to new quarters in the (more expensive) central city. In 1824 he was appointed as Royal Piano and Keyboard Maker to the Imperial court in Vienna. By 1826, the increasing demand for his pianos had led Graf to adopt methods of

mass production Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines ...

, an area in which he was a pioneer. (Earlier, the building of pianos took place in small workshops.) He purchased the "Mondscheinhaus", a formerly fashionable dance hall at 102 auf der Wieden, and converted it into a piano factory, removing the chandeliers and other accoutrements. A report from 1835 indicates that the factory had 40 employees, who were "organized in eight divisions, each specializing in a particular job" (Wythe). Many of the workers lived in the same building, which included ten apartments. Between 1827 and 1831 Graf built two additions to his factory, adding a total of over 1000 square meters. Graf's firm eventually produced over 3000 instruments during his lifetime. As the '' Grove Dictionary'' notes, the instruments "show a remarkable degree of consistency and may be categorized as a series of models", presumably as a consequence of Graf's mass production methods. The lower cost of factory-produced instruments led in the 19th century to widespread ownership of pianos by the middle class In 1835, Graf won a gold medal for his pianos in 1835 at the first Viennese industrial products exhibition. His pianos were often owned and played by celebrated musicians (see below). In 1840 Graf retired and sold the firm to Carl Stein, who was the grandson of the famous piano builder Johann Andreas Stein. Graf's business was successful enough for him to become an art collector, and he amassed an extensive collection. From Josef Danhauser he commissioned in 1840 the famous painting ''Franz Liszt Fantasizing at the Piano'' (shown below), which shows

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

playing to an imagined gathering of his friends. The instrument portrayed is a Graf. During his retirement Graf served as a volunteer for a businessman's association, the Niederösterreichische Gewerb-Verein ("

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

n Industrial Association"), which he had helped to found in 1839. He died 18 March 1851 at the age of 69. His will left sizeable bequests to charitable causes.

Graf's pianos

As was typical with the pianos of his day, Graf's instruments use rather little metal reinforcement. The only metal structural part was the gap spacer, which reinforced the structure at the gap where the strings cross over the

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

; otherwise, their construction was entirely of wood. The stringing was straight (that is, all strings parallel, instead of the bass strings crossing over the treble as in modern pianos). The range as C′–f′′′′ or g′′′′. There were from three to five pedals, which other than the standard damper pedal could also include the

soft pedal The soft pedal or , is one pedal on a piano, generally placed leftmost among the pedals. On a grand piano this pedal shifts the whole action (including the keyboard) slightly to the right, so that the hammers, which normally strike all three ...

, bassoon stop, piano and pianissimo moderators, and janissary stop). Although Graf pianos had no metal frame, they were very strong. According to Wythe, "The frame members, constructed of five-ply laminated

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

, interlock like bricks at each joint and at the belly rail, creating an exceptionally stable frame." The case was laminated i.e., built in layers, as it usually is in modern grands. The sturdy construction prevented warping, which was a common problem of pianos in Graf's day, when both number and tension of strings was increasing. Viennese pianos, including Graf's, are known for effective damping of sound after the key is released. Graf achieved this result by a variety of means. The dampers were graded in size (larger in the bass), and used different materials for different ranges (wool in the treble, leather in the bass). The weight of the dampers was also controlled: dampers for lower notes were made of a heavier wood (

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

), vs. lime in the treble. The lowest 13–17 dampers were weighted with lead. A curious aspect of some of Graf's pianos was a second soundboard. This had no bridges, but simply floated above the strings (not attached to them). According to Wythe its purpose was to make the sound "mellower and more blended." The instrument shown in this article has such a soundboard. The exteriors of Graf's pianos were largely undecorated, emphasizing instead the beauty of bookmatched veneers in

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

and

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

. (The mirror-image motif created by bookmatching is visible in the illustration above.) The natural keys were normally of

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

and the sharps of

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

. Thanks to their sturdy construction, Graf pianos have lasted for a long time. Over 60 of them have survived to the present day and can be found in many of the musical instrument museums of Europe and the United States. With a single exception, the surviving Graf pianos are grands. The exception is a notable one, an 1829 pyramid piano (a kind of upright) built on commission and extravagantly decorated with

caryatid A caryatid ( ; ; ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient t ...

s, an ornamental urn, and other sculptures. It is kept in the Gemeentemuseum in

the Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

Sound

Owing to their heavier construction, Graf's pianos have a rather different sound from the pianos that prevailed through

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's,

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's, and much of

's musical careers; for example those built by Johann Andreas Stein or

Anton Walter Gabriel Anton Walter (5 February 1752 – 11 April 1826) was a builder of pianos. The ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most famous Viennese piano maker of his time".Latcham (2009) Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and S ...

. Intuitively, the sound is "heavier", less tinkling, and shifted in the direction of the modern piano. Builder/scholar Paul Poletti, who is experienced in restoring and copying Grafs, offers these comments on the Graf sound: :"Graf's instruments represent an aesthetic which is more proto- Romantic than late- classical Viennese. Everything about their design is tailored to provide a long singing tone, which unfortunately can only be had at the expense of clarity and transparency. If you really love the music of

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

and early Brahms, a Graf is just the thing for you, but if you are more interested in Beethoven and

, I'd recommend a late Classical instrument ... Graf's instruments are significantly heavier than their contemporaries because of the solid oak framework. Despite their reputation, they are actually not any louder than instruments by other makers – perhaps even less so." For downloadable sound files illustrating the tone of a Graf, see External Links below.

Graf as inventor

Although Graf's pianos are generally considered conservative in their design, there is evidence that Graf explored various ways to improve them. His technical innovations included the strengthened interior bracing mentioned above, a new method of leathering hammers, and quadruple stringing. At various stages (about 1810–1820, and also 1826; see below) he explored the possibility of adding a fourth string per note. Graf also built a mechanical saw for cutting veneer, capable of cutting strips up to 57 cm. wide, and created a device intended to help deaf persons (one in particular; see below) hear the sound of the piano.

Graf pianos played by celebrated musicians

In 1826 Graf lent to

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

a 6½-octave piano triple-strung to C, and quadruple-strung from D to the top (F4) – probably on the assumption that this stringing would make the piano more audible for the composer, who was quite deaf by this time.Conrad Graf, Echtheitsbestätigung für den Flügel Ludwig van Beethovens, Wien, 26. Juni 1849, Autograph Graf's sound-channeling device, mentioned above, was also part of this effort. Following Beethoven's death in 1827, Graf took the piano back and sold it to the Wimmer family of Vienna. The instrument survives today and is on display at the Beethoven-Haus in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. The importance of the Graf to Beethoven's career is probably minor. According to Good, "the only work he wrote for piano after getting it was the four-hand transcription of the Grosse Fugue ... and the indications are that he was playing very little even for himself in the last three years of his life." In 1829, the 19-year-old

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

came to Vienna from Poland to give concert performances on the piano. Both Graf and his rival Matthäus Andreas Stein offered Chopin an instrument to use. Chopin, who was familiar with foreign pianos, unhesitatingly selected the Graf, and his Vienna concerts were a success. According to Goldberg, Chopin continued to "cherish" Graf instruments during his subsequent career in Paris. Liszt at the Piano

The famous virtuoso

, who played Graf pianos, must have been something of a thorn in Herr Graf's side, as the Graf piano was not always capable of standing up to the violence that Liszt inflicted on it during his more impassioned moments of playing. Friedrich Wieck wrote in his diary during Liszt's 1838 visit to Vienna, "We heard Liszt today at Conrad Graf's who was sweating as his piano did not survive the great duel—Liszt remained the victor." Wieck described another concert on the same visit in which Liszt "destroyed" two Grafs, as well as an Erard piano lent to him by

Sigismond Thalberg Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was an Austrian composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Family Thalberg was born in Pâquis near Geneva on 8 January 1812. Thalberg asserted that he ...

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

also admired instruments from Graf. He acquired one in 1832 which he used in the family house and recitals in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and later another for use in Dusseldorf. In 1840, Graf gave one of his firm's grand pianos as a gift to the young piano virtuoso Clara Wieck (Friedrich's daughter), on the occasion of her marriage to

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

. When Schumann died in 1856, Clara gave the instrument to her friend

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

, who used it for his work until 1873. He then donated it to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde; today it is on display in the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

in Vienna. During the 1880s, the young

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

owned and played a very old piano, a Graf from about 1836. The instrument is currently housed in the Cobbe Collection near

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

in England. The collection's web site suggests that Mahler simply could not afford a better piano at the time. Other musicians who owned or played Graf pianos included

Friedrich Kalkbrenner Friedrich Wilhelm Michael Kalkbrenner (7 November 1785 – 10 June 1849), also known as ''Frédéric Kalkbrenner'', was a pianist, composer, piano teacher and piano manufacturer. German by birth, Kalkbrenner studied at the Conservatoire de Paris ...

and Camille Pleyel. In September 2018 a Graf 1819 replica was used in the first International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments (run by

Fryderyk Chopin Institute The Fryderyk Chopin Institute () is a Polish organization dedicated to researching and promoting the life and works of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. It was created in 2001 as the result of legislation in the Polish Parliament and is under d ...

Assessment

Of Graf's instruments, Wythe says they "represent the culmination of Viennese classical piano building in the style of J. A. Stein and

: they are uncorrupted by modern 'advances' such as the steel frame and the repeat action, and show none of the unwieldiness that eventually led to the decline of the Viennese piano." Kottick and Lucktenberg describe Graf thus: "although a conservative builder, Graf was well thought of, and some of the best nineteenth-century German pianists preferred his instruments." The report of the exhibition where Graf's pianos won a gold medal said:

The distinguished characteristics of his pianos have gained them the attention of the entire musical world; indeed, there is a strong market for his instruments not only domestically but in all parts of the civilized world ... heymust be included among the most successful achievements in the art of piano building.

The surviving Graf instruments are about two centuries old; the musicologist Robert Winter has voiced strong criticism of performers who choose to use historical instruments, including Graf pianos, that may sound very poorly after such a great passage of time. However, a number of modern builders have created new copies of Graf pianos, and these non-dilapidated instruments have been adopted by a variety of modern performers for both concerts and recordings.

Recordings made with originals fortepianos of Conrad Graf

* Esther Hoppe, Florian Birsak. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ''Mozarts Costa-Violine''. Label: belvedere. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1839). * Natalia Rehling. Frédéric Chopin. ''Sonata No. 2, Preludes op. 28''. Label: paladino music. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (after 1828). * Hardy Rittner. Frédéric Chopin. ''Complete Etudes''. Label: MDG. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (c. 1835). * The Atlantis Trio (Penelope Crawford, Jaap Schröder, Enid Sutherland) Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. ''Klaviertrios''. Label: Musica Omnia. Played on a Graf fortepiano. * Paul Badura-Skoda. Franz Schubert. ''Fantaisie Pour le Piano-forte.'' Label: Astree. Played on a Conrad Graf 1824 fortepiano. * Erich Höbarth,

Alexander Rudin Alexander Israilevich Rudin (; born 1960) is a Russian classical cellist and conductor. Biography and career Rudin was born in 1960, in Moscow, and he studied piano and cello at the Gnessin Institute before later studying conducting at the Mo ...

, Aapo Häkkinen. Franz Schubert. ''Piano Trio No. 2, Arpeggione Sonata''. Label: Naxos. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1827). * Daniel Paul Horn. Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn. ''Wanderings: Fanatasies of Schubert & Mendelssohn''. Label: Titanic. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (c. 1829). * Malcolm Bilson. Franz Schubert. ''Piano Sonatas D.850, D.568.'' Label: Hungaraton Classics. Played on Conrad Graf ca.1835 fortepiano. *

Jörg Demus Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on ...

. Robert Schumann. ''Musik auf historischen Instrumenten aus dem Erbdrostenhof zu Münster''. Label: FSM. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (c. 1835). * Jörg Demus. Robert Schumann. ''Fantasiestücke Op. 12, Humoresque Op. 20''. Label: MDG. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano Op. 1810 (c. 1835). * Paul Schweinester, Andreas Mattersberger, Annette Seiler, Johannes Hinterholzer. Josef Netzer. ''Lieder & Duett Die Loreley''. Label: Musikmuseum. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1835). * Maria Erlacher, Andreas Lebeda, Nikolaus Walch, Annette Seiler. Josef Netzer. ''Lieder''. Label: Musikmuseum. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1835). * Annette Seiler. Felix Mendelssohn. ''Lieder ohne Worte, Rondo capriccioso & Variations sérieuses''. Label: Musikmuseum. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1835). * Annette Seiler. Robert Schumann. ''Psychogramme''. Label: Musikmuseum. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (c. 1835). * Attilio Cremonesi, Anna Fontana. Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Ferdinand Ries, Johann Baptist Cramer, Jan Kalivoda. ''A quattro mani''. Label: Musikmuseum. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano Op. 2003 (c. 1835). * Tobias Koch. Franz Schubert. ''Zukunftsmusik: Die letzten drei Klaviersonaten''. Label: Musikmuseum. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (c. 1835). * Tobias Koch. Norbert Burgmüller, Felix Mendelssohn, Friedrich Burgmüller. ''Complete Works for Pianoforte''. Label: Genuin. Played on fortepianos by Conrad Graf Op. 1181 (c. 1826) and Ignace Pleyel Op. 8777 (c. 1835). * Tobias Koch, Riko Fukuda. Frédéric Chopin, Ignaz Moscheles, Felix Mendelssohn, Ferdinand Hiller, Franz Liszt. ''Grand Duo''. Label: ARS Produktion. Played on Conrad Graf fortepianos (1830) and Op. 2258 (1835). * Tobias Koch. Ludwig van Beethoven. ''Complete Piano Pieces''. Label: Avi-Music. Played on fortepianos by Michael Rosenberger (1810), Conrad Graf (1827), Nannette Streicher & Sohn (1825),

orphica The orphica is a portable piano invented by Carl Leopold Röllig in the late 18th century. Like a guitar, the orphica could be held on a shoulder strap, thus being an early forerunner of the modern keytar. Only a few orphicas were made in Vien ...

(ca. 1800) and

tangent piano The tangent piano is a very rare keyboard instrument that resembles a harpsichord and early pianos in design. It normally features five octaves of keys and the strings are acted upon by narrow wooden or metal slips when the keys are depressed. ...

by Späth und Schmahl (1790) and Nannette Streicher fortepiano (1816). * Pierre-André Taillard, Edoardo Torbianelli. Carl Maria von Weber, Ferdinand Ries. ''Grand Duo Concertant''. Label: Harmonia Mundi. Played on Conrad Graf fortepianos Op. 1040 (1822-1823) and Op. 367 (1820). * Thomas Oliemans, Paolo Giacometti. Robert Schumann. ''Lieder: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde''. Label: Channel Classics. Played on fortepianos by Conrad Graf (c. 1830) and Johann Baptist Streicher (1847). * Julian Perkins, Emma Abbate. Carl Maria von Weber. ''Complete Keyboard Duets''. Label: Deux-Elles. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1826). * Stephen Preston, Jennifer Ward Clarke, Richard Burnett. Carl Maria von Weber. ''Flute Trio and Sonatas''. Label: Amon-Ra. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1826). * Ralph Holmes, Richard Burnett. Johann Nepomuk Hummel. ''Works for Violin and Piano''. Label: Amon-Ra. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1826). * Richard Burnett. Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Carl Czerny. ''FThe Romantic Fortepiano''. Label: SKC. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano Op. 988 (1841). * Eleonora Contucci, Costantino Mastroprimiano. Hugo Staehle. ''Mädchenliebe: Lieder''. Label: Brilliant Classics. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano Op. 1092 (1826). * Eleonora Contucci, Costantino Mastroprimiano. Norbert Burgmüller. ''Lieder, Piano Sonata Op. 8''. Label: Brilliant Classics. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano Op. 1092 (1826). * Costantino Mastroprimiano. Frédéric Chopin. ''Early Works''. Label: Brilliant Classics. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano Op. 1092 (1826). * Christoph Huntgeburth, Rolf Junghanns. Franz Schubert, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Johann Nepomuk Hummel. ''Romantic Flute Music''. Label: FSM. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1824). *

Michael Schopper Michael Schopper (born 28 May 1942) is a German bass-baritone in opera and concert, and an academic teacher. Michael Schopper was educated with the Regensburger Domspatzen and studied on a scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes ...

Jos van Immerseel Jos Van Immerseel (born 9 November 1945) is a Belgian harpsichordist, pianist and Conducting, conductor. Van Immerseel studied Pipe organ, organ, piano and harpsichord at the Antwerp Conservatory under Flor Peeters, Eugène Traey and harpsicho ...

. Franz Schubert. ''Schwanengesang''. Label: Globe. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano (1826). * Rufus Müller, Christoph Hammer. Franz Lachner. ''Sängerfahrt, Op.33, und Andere Lieder nach Gedichten von Heine''. Label: Oehms. Played on Conrad Graf fortepiano Op. 1207 (c. 1827).

Recordings made with replicas fortepianos of Conrad Graf

* Pierre Goy. Frédéric Chopin. ''Chopin à vienne''. Label: Lyrinx Played on a copy by Christopher Clarke of a Graf fortepiano (1826). * Tatiana Loguinova. Mikhail Glinka. ''Treasures for the Pianoforte''. Label: Phaedra. Played on a copy by Chris Maene of a Graf fortepiano (1825). * The Helicon Ensemble. Robert Schumann. ''A Schumann Salon Concert''. Label: Helicon. Played on a copy by R. J. Regier (1987) of a Graf fortepiano (c. 1824). * Franz Vitzthum, Katharina Olivia Brand. Franz Schubert, Carl Friedrich Zelter, Charlotte Bender, Johann Friedrich von Dalberg, Anselm Hüttenbrenner, Johann Vesque von Püttlingen, Josephine Caroline Lang, Ernst Friedrich Kauffmann, Felix Mendelssohn. ''Nachthimmel: Lieder von Schubert, Zelter, Dalberg''. Label: Christophorus. Played on a copy by Christoph Kern (2019) of a Graf fortepiano (1826). * Costantino Mastroprimiano. Franz Schubert. ''Sonatas D. 157, D. 664, D. 850''. Label: Dynamic. Played on a copy by Andrea Restelli (2012) of a Graf fortepiano Op. 593. * Kristian Bezuidenhout. Ludwig van Beethoven. ''Piano Concertos Nos. 2&5.'' Label: Harmonia Mundi. Played on a replica of a Graf 1824 made by R. Regier. * Michael Tsalka. Ferdinand Ries. ''Romantic Variations, Fantasies and a Rondo''. Label: Naxos. Fortepianos by Thomas and Barbara Wolf after Johann Schanz (c. 1800, replica: 1997) and Nannette Streicher (c. 1815, replica: 1994) and by R. J. Reiger (Freeport, 1993) after Conard Graf (c. 1824). * Ronald Brautigam. Ludwig van Beethoven. ''Complete Works for Solo Piano''. Label: BIS. Played on a copy of a Graf,

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

and Stein fortepianos made by Paul McNulty. * Ronald Brautigam. Carl Maria von Weber. ''Complete Works for Piano & Orchestra''. Label: BIS. Played on a copy by Paul McNulty (2007) of a Graf fortepiano (c. 1819) . * Markus Schäfer, Zvi Meniker. Franz Schubert. ''The Small Song Cycles''. Label: Passacaille. Played on a copy by Paul McNulty (2012) of a Graf fortepiano (c. 1819) . * Petra Matejová. Jan Václav Voříšek. ''Rhapsodies, Fantasia''. Label: Český rozhlas. Played on a copy by Paul McNulty (2008) of a Graf fortepiano (1819) . * Viviana Sofronitsky. Franz Schubert. ''Wanderer Fantasy. Impromptus opp.90 & 142''. Label: Avi Music. Played on a copy of a Graf instrument made by Paul McNulty.

Notes and references

Notes References

Sources

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External links

* from a modern Graf replica made by Paul Poletti * , fortepianist Vladimir Sofronitsky plays on a modern Graf replica made by Paul McNulty
"The Piano in Polish collections"
Graf op. 318 ca. 1819 piano copy by Paul McNulty in Chopin Institute Warsaw {{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Conrad 1782 births 1851 deaths People from Riedlingen People from the Austrian Empire Piano makers