Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Biography

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart appears in Dolge's account first as one of the composers content with the clavichord and harpsichord in an earlier era, and then, as a young man, as the discoverer of a new favorite instrument. At Augsburg he found a Stein piano whose action 'did not block,' prompting him to discard the clavichord entirely. He wrote an enthusiastic testimonial letter to his mother praising the piano and describing Stein as an artisan who built pianos for the love of his art rather than for money. Dolge notes that Stein always tried to satisfy Mozart's demands, and that Stein eventually presented Beethoven with a six-octave grand piano that served the composer for years. A portrait of Mozart accompanies the text. The text records that the 'Wonder-child,' Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, practiced at Shudi's historic house on Great Poulteney Street on the harpsichord that Burckhardt Tschudi had built for Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, cited as an illustration of the fame and quality of Tschudi's instruments and of the house's association with celebrated musicians of the era.

Highlights

• As a child prodigy ('Wonder-child'), practiced at Shudi's London house on the harpsichord Tschudi had built for Frederick the Great
• Discarded the clavichord after discovering the Stein piano in Augsburg, whose action 'did not block'
• Wrote an enthusiastic letter to his mother praising Stein as an artisan devoted to art rather than profit

Source

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

Public domain.