Schröter

Biography

Schröter is credited with a hammer action dated 1717, described by the author as a model of innovation of "magnificent simplicity." His design incorporated the notion of striking the string from both above and below, but his drawing shows no mechanism for lifting the hammer away from the string after it struck; the hammer instead depended entirely on the counterweight of the hammer butt to fall back. This made the touch hard and unyielding, and the text notes that Bach and other clavichord virtuosos of the era would have none of it. Gottfried Silbermann later improved on Schröter's action by removing its special escapement lever, and Johann Andreas Stein's later addition of the "hopper" produced the Schröter-Stein action, which virtuosos including Mozart and Beethoven preferred over the English action of their day. Schröter is named in connection with a disputed claim, advanced by Dr. Oscar Paul, that Christofori had copied an invention of his; Dolge rejects this claim as evidence of Paul's ignorance of piano-action construction.

Highlights

• Devised a hammer action in 1717, called a 'model of innovation' by the author
• His action could strike the string from above or below but had no way to lift the hammer clear after striking, giving a hard, tough touch
• Bach and other clavichord virtuosos of his time rejected the action for its clumsiness
• Named in Dr. Oscar Paul's disputed claim that Christofori copied his invention

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 85, 87.

Public domain.