Siegfried Hansing

Biography

Siegfried Hansing, author of "The Pianoforte and Its Acoustic Properties," is credited by Dolge with giving the clearest scientific account of soundboard behavior available at the time. Hansing showed the fallacy of Dr. Oscar Paul's contention that the soundboard is 'the very soul of the piano' and that tone is produced by the soundboard rather than the string, basing his argument on Pellisow's doctrine that the ear perceives sound through the shock or jolt of its creation rather than through 'tone waves.' Accordingly, Hansing viewed the soundboard as a kind of drum, receiving as shocks the vibrations of the strings set in motion by the hammer. He disclaimed the 'ear harp' assumed by Helmholtz and others as an impossibility, holding instead that the ear measures the intervals between shocks, distinguishing higher tones by shorter intervals and lower tones by longer ones. He further held that a properly constructed soundboard has no harmful transverse vibrations, as demonstrated by the crossed-grain double soundboards of Mathushek and Moser, and concluded that the soundboard does not itself generate sound but only augments and transmits the vibration originating in the string. Siegfried Hansing was a piano maker and author whose 1888 book "Das Pianoforte in seinen akustischen Anlagen" (revised 1909, Schwerin i./M.) is described by Dolge as, "beyond question, the most important" work so far written on the construction of the pianoforte. A thoroughly practical piano maker and master of his art, Hansing studied cause and effect in piano acoustics, basing his conclusions on exhaustive study rather than the accepted theories of earlier scientists; Dolge credits him with "a most penetrating mind capable of exact logical reasoning." Along with Henry A. Mott, Hansing vigorously attacked Helmholtz's "originally much-lauded 'Tone Wave Theory'" and his claimed discovery of the "Ear Harp." Free from any business affiliations, Hansing treated his subject with an impartial and unbiased keenness of perception that Dolge calls a rich mine of information for prospective piano designers and constructors. A portrait with facsimile signature accompanies the text. Siegfried Hansing is thanked by name in Alfred Dolge's foreword among ten men credited with 'kind and valuable assistance' that supplied the book with important data. No further biographical detail, occupation, or company affiliation is given in this portion of the text. Siegfried Hansing was appointed technical director and superintendent of the Behr Brothers and Company factory in 1886, following the dissolution of Paul G. Mehlin's partnership with Henry Behr, and served in that role for six years. From Spillane (1890): Siegfried Hansing was a native of Bückeburg, Germany, born June 12, 1842, described as a well-known and eminent specialist and experienced piano-maker, and author of the work 'The Pianoforte in Its Acoustic Relations.' He emigrated to the United States in 1884, and within a recent period Behr Brothers & Co. secured his services as a learned authority on piano construction and its acoustics. When the firm became a close corporation on January 1, 1890, with a paid-in capital stock of $450,000, Hansing was named among its incorporators, alongside Henry Behr, Edward Behr, Emil Hurtzig, and Charles L. Burchard.

Highlights

• Thanked by name in Dolge's foreword for 'kind and valuable assistance' supplying data used in the book.
• Author of "The Pianoforte and Its Acoustic Properties"
• Refuted Dr. Oscar Paul's contention that the soundboard alone produces piano tone, arguing instead that it transmits and augments the string's vibration
• Held that the soundboard functions like a drum receiving shocks from the strings, and disclaimed Helmholtz's theorized 'ear harp' as an impossibility
• Wrote "Das Pianoforte in seinen akustischen Anlagen" (1888; revised Schwerin, 1909), called by Dolge the most important work yet written on pianoforte construction
• Vigorously attacked Helmholtz's "Tone Wave Theory" and claimed discovery of the "Ear Harp"
• Studied piano acoustics independently of accepted scientific theories, free of any business affiliations
• Appointed technical director and superintendent of the Behr Brothers factory in 1886, after Paul G. Mehlin's partnership dissolved
• Served in that capacity for six years
• Patented a Muffler for Upright Piano and an Upright Piano Action (Nos. 398,130 and 398,151), New York, February 1889
• Later patented a further Piano Action (No. 404,704), New York, June 1889
• Author of 'The Pianoforte in Its Acoustic Relations'
• Recruited by Behr Brothers & Co. as a learned authority on piano construction and acoustics; in the United States since 1884
• Named an incorporator when Behr Brothers & Co. became a close corporation in 1890

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 106, 107; Vol. II (1913), p. 41.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 274, 275.

Public domain.