Nannette Stein-Streicher

Biography

Nannette Stein-Streicher is described by Dolge as an admiring friend of Beethoven and as 'that ingenious woman piano builder.' When Beethoven found six octaves too small a compass for his symphonic ambitions, she took on the challenge of building him a six-and-a-half octave grand piano—a considerable technical feat for the period, given the era's lack of iron-frame construction and modern machinery. Dolge emphasizes that she succeeded despite these difficulties, and that Beethoven rewarded her with many letters, each one serving as a testimonial for her instruments. The narrative also notes that despite his sincere friendship with her, Beethoven nonetheless praised a rival piano sent to him by John Broadwood of London. No dates or further biographical details are given about her in this excerpt. Nannette Stein-Streicher, daughter of Johann Andreas Stein, is described by Dolge as "not only an excellent musician, but also a thoroughly practical and scientific piano maker." Working with her father, she helped materially improve the Schröter action, and the grand pianos the two produced from 1780 on were preferred by Mozart, Beethoven, and other masters of the era, valued for the elastic touch and sympathetic, clavichord-like tone of the resulting Vienna action. An illustration of the "Nannette Stein-Streicher Grand Action, 1780" accompanies the discussion of her and her father's work. Nannette Stein-Streicher is invoked by Dolge as an early example of a piano maker's personal solicitude toward a great artist. The text states that she 'cared for Beethoven' about 170 years before the time of writing, a precedent Dolge cites when describing how modern piano manufacturers assume financial risk and attend personally to the comfort of the virtuosos who endorse their instruments. No further biographical detail is given about her in this passage.

Highlights

• Described as an excellent musician as well as a thoroughly practical and scientific piano maker
• With her father Johann Andreas Stein, materially improved the Schröter action, producing grand pianos preferred by Mozart and Beethoven
• Called by Dolge 'that ingenious woman piano builder'
• Built Beethoven a six-and-a-half octave grand piano to satisfy his demand for greater compass and tone
• Received many letters from Beethoven, each serving as a testimonial for her pianos
• Cited as having personally cared for Beethoven's needs about 170 years before the book's writing, as an example of a piano maker's solicitude toward an artist

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 59.

Public domain.