Geronimo of Bologna

Biography

Geronimo of Bologna is credited in the text with being the first maker to use the quill or wing form of case — identical to the form of the present-day grand piano and later used exclusively for the harpsichord — in the year 1521. European continental makers of spinets and virginals generally favored the triangular form while English makers preferred square, oblong, or upright forms; Geronimo's adoption of the wing (German: flügel) shape, driven by the desire for greater tone volume, marked the origin of what became the harpsichord's standard form. Geronimo of Bologna is credited by the author with producing the harpsichord in 1521. As with Giovanni Spinnetti, no further records of his life survive; the author notes only that surviving instruments attributed to him demonstrate his genius and talent as a maker.

Highlights

• Credited as the first, in 1521, to use the quill or wing-shaped ('flügel') case form later adopted universally for the harpsichord and identical to the modern grand piano's shape.
• Credited with giving the world the harpsichord in 1521.

Source

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

Public domain.