James Shudi Broadwood

Biography

James Shudi Broadwood was admitted to partnership by his father John Broadwood in 1795, at which point the firm was renamed John Broadwood & Son. Raised in the intellectual and artistic atmosphere of the family house at 33 Great Poulteney Street, where his grandfather Shudi had built harpsichords for kings and where Mozart, Handel and Haydn had practiced, James became head of the house after his father's death in 1812. Sympathetic to the liberal artistic views of his time, he inaugurated celebrated Saturday dinners at Great Poulteney Street, assembling London's leading musicians and figures of art and literature, spreading the Broadwood piano's fame across languages; even Beethoven, despite his loyalty to Nannette Streicher, was said to have joined the chorus of Broadwood admirers. From Spillane (1890): James Shudi Broadwood patented a metal string plate for grand pianos in 1827, the same year as James Stewart's stringing patent. The plate became a standard feature of Broadwood grand pianos for several years until superseded by an improved design.

Highlights

• Admitted to partnership in 1795, prompting the firm's renaming to John Broadwood & Son; became head of the house on his father's death in 1812
• Inaugurated celebrated Saturday dinners at 33 Great Poulteney Street that gathered London's leading musicians and artists
• Even Beethoven, loyal to Nannette Streicher, was said to have joined the chorus of Broadwood's admirers during this era
• Patented a metal string plate for grand pianos in 1827, which became a permanent feature of Broadwood instruments for years.

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 245.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 43.

Public domain.