Ernst Kaps

Biography

Ernst Kaps, of Dresden, is credited as the first builder of a very short grand piano, in 1865, employing a double overstrung scale. Dolge notes that, because of its novelty, this instrument was for many years a commercial success, although it was later established that shortening a grand to about five feet represents the practical danger-line for satisfying an artist's or amateur's demands for volume, tone quality, and an even, well-balanced scale.

Highlights

• Of Dresden, was the first to build a very short grand piano (1865), using a double overstrung scale
• The novelty of his short grand made it a commercial success for many years

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911).

Public domain.