Stein

Biography

Stein, the Augsburg piano maker, is credited by Dolge with building the instrument that won Mozart away from the clavichord: a piano whose action 'did not block.' Mozart praised Stein in a letter to his mother as an artisan who built pianos out of devotion to his art rather than for profit, and Dolge notes that Stein always tried to satisfy Mozart's demands. Stein later presented Beethoven with a grand piano of six octaves, which served the composer for years as he worked on his compositions. The text goes on to describe Beethoven's later collaboration with Nannette Stein-Streicher, identified as Stein's admiring associate, who built an even larger instrument to meet Beethoven's growing demands. No dates or further personal details about Stein are given in this excerpt. Stein is credited in this section with the "Stein action," in which the hammer rises toward the center of the key -- contrasted with the action later modified by Backers for English use, where the hammer rises at the end of the key. Stein is also named, alongside Fabrici, as a maker of "vertical grands," a class of instrument distinguished from the true upright piano that Dolge dates the beginning of to Johann Schmidt's work about 1780. Stein is further grouped with Christofori and Silbermann among makers whose early pianofortes possessed the wing form. No dates or nationality are given for Stein in this section.

Highlights

• The "Stein action" is described as having the hammer rise toward the center of the key, in contrast to the modified (Backers) action used in England.
• Along with Fabrici, made vertical grands of a class predating the true upright piano.
• Named, along with Christofori and Silbermann, among makers whose early pianofortes possessed the wing form.
• Built the Augsburg piano whose non-blocking action won Mozart's enthusiastic praise
• Described by Mozart as building pianos for love of art rather than for money
• Presented Beethoven with a six-octave grand piano that served him for years of composing

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 53.

Public domain.