Geronimo

Biography

Geronimo is credited by Dolge with having been first to use the "wing" form -- the horizontal, tapering shape later characteristic of the grand piano -- in 1521, a point the text recalls as "previously stated" from earlier in the book. This form is described as having ever since been preferred by artistic makers seeking an instrument suited to the concert hall. No further detail about Geronimo is provided within this section. Geronimo was an early Italian instrument maker credited by Dolge with inventing the wing-formed harpsichord, considered by Dolge among the first "art pianos." He embellished the outer case of his instruments with artistic carvings; an example of his work is preserved at the South Kensington Museum in London. Other Italian makers, including Alessandro Trasunti, are said to have built further on his innovations.

Highlights

• Credited as the first to use the "wing" form, in 1521 (per material discussed earlier in the book and recalled here).
• Credited by Dolge as the inventor of the wing-formed harpsichord
• Embellished the outer case of his instruments with artistic carvings; an example is preserved at the South Kensington Museum in London

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 57.

Public domain.