EarlyMusicNews.Org

"I offer harpsichords and other early keyboard instruments which are based on historic instruments. My philosophy is to follow the original design and materials very closely, obtaining details from drawings, literature and personal studies of instruments in museums and private collections. The only exceptions I make are to add certain features to make the instruments less susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity and to add features at a customer’s request. Customised features include the ability to play in modern pitch (A=440) and/or baroque pitch (A=415), extended compass and decoration.

My background is in engineering and I find this an enormous help in understanding and making instruments; after all, instrument making is basically engineering in wood! " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 03, 2008 | Hits: 456

"Robert Deegan has been making harpsichords since 1969 and was previously a graphic designer. He works in a converted eighteenth century quayside warehouse in the City of Lancaster, England, with two assistants, and personally attends to each stage of the demanding process of making a hand crafted keyboard instrument. In 1977 he won a Churchill Scholarship and travelled to the USA where he studied instruments in the major collections as well as visiting other makers. Due to this opportunity and visits to European collections he has inspected, collected data on, and (where possible) played all the originals of the instruments offered here. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 05, 2008 | Hits: 414

“The firm of Robert Goble and Son, based in Oxford, have for 60 years produced individually built harpsichords, clavichords and spinets for players and institutions all over the world. Our wide range of models is the result of study of the 17th and 18th century harpsichords in the museums and collections where they are preserved.

Great care is taken in the choice of traditional timbers and stringing materials in order to approach as closely as possible the tone quality of the original instrument. The decoration and colour of the examples illustrated can be altered to suit individual requirements, and further options can be provided, such as painted soundboards, alternative key coverings, marquetry and inlaid decoration.

Visitors are welcome to the workshop where these details can be discussed; also a wide range of harpsichords may be played in our showroom. We are pleased to undertake further individual commissions on request.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Sep 09, 2011 | Hits: 229

" Early Keyboard Instruments - for more than forty years we have made early keyboard instruments based on original 18th century instruments and constructed under the direction of John Morley. Instruments are built using traditional techniques and materials including Bavarian pine soundboards, English sycamore or beech bridges and wrestplanks combined with the highest quality of craftsmanship to produce the quality and tone which ensures the continuing success of John Morley instruments. London's largest stock of classical keyboards " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 05, 2008 | Hits: 410

"I provide a service of harpsichord and fortepiano hire for concerts, recordings, rehearsals and tours.

Tuning of hire instruments, or your own instrument, for events in any location and to any temperament specified.

Transport of modern or antique instruments by road to any location in the UK or Europe.

I can also provide advice for people wishing to buy or sell new or second-hand instruments, or with any aspect of looking after early keyboard instruments. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 05, 2008 | Hits: 425

"In the heart of London, The Harpsichord Workshop provides a complete service for the harpsichord player, offering a range of instruments to suit specific requirements, and working with the world's leading players.

We Hire and Tune instruments for concerts, recordings and rehearsals, as well as providing long-term hire for such purposes as opera seasons and tours.

We can also loan instruments for use in the home, for practice or while awaiting delivery of a new instrument. Our collection includes fine harpsichords by makes such as Michael Johnson, Bruce Kennedy and Andrew Garlick, including double-manual French, German and Flemish instruments; single manual Italian harpsichords; and Flemish and Italian virginals.

At the Harpsichord Workshop we can provide a Full Repair Service from general regulation to major restoration.

We can Advise on the Purchase of new instruments from a variety of makers, and sometimes have second hand ones available for immediate sale. "

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Tags: Mark Ransom

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 367

"The Period Piano Company was established in 1976 by David Winston, who is widely recognised as one of the world's leading makers and restorers of keyboard instruments. Among our clients are some of the world's great musicians, museums and private collections. We have been entrusted with the restoration of antique pianos of great historical importance, including the piano which was made for Beethoven in 1817 and instruments associated with Chopin, Mendelssohn and Liszt." ...

Added on: Aug 03, 2007 | Hits: 334

"Former maker of Franco-Flemish and Italian harpsichords and English virginals. ... MAINTENANCE SERVICE AVAILABLE — Europe & beyond. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 387

"I've worked with Kevin Fryer since 1999, and together with the client we enjoy creating an overall visual scheme designed to compliment, but not compete with the instrument itself. I've applied the same sensitivity to the integrity of tonal and visual qualities in a number of highly successful collaborations with other instrument makers. " ...

Added on: Oct 29, 2005 | Hits: 1897

"Early music artists tend to be passionate about their music. Similarly, professional instrument makers can have intense feelings about their work. As a harpsichord maker, I am committed to producing instruments that are inspiring to the eye, the ear, and the hand. I have developed my harpsichords and clavichords to meet the desires of professional musicians and other serious players who look for the ultimate in musical expression and fulfillment. My instruments are as timeless as the antiques on which they are modeled, and I am devoted to the continuing satisfaction of their owners.

My harpsichords and clavichords are the product of an individual hand. I research, analyze, and build these instruments in a way that is faithful to period construction techniques. This fidelity is not an antiquarian exercise: Quite simply, it produces the best instruments, assuring excellent sound, stability, and longevity. As with many fine things, a good instrument gains in character with age. With proper care, the instruments I make will last as long as their seventeenth- and eighteenth-century ancestors; they will also continue to maintain their value. Only instruments made the way I make them can offer you a sense of expanding musical expression, enjoyment, and value for generations.

My instruments embody more than 28 years of research, in both archival study and hands-on work examining, measuring, and restoring antique harpsichords and clavichords. While my instruments are not line-for-line copies of individual antiques, each model type is based on a particular instrument which represents the essence of the work of a maker like F. E. Blanchet II or Pierre Donzelague, or of an entire regional group like the Parisian or the Hamburg schools. This foundation of research offers modern players a genuine link to the origins of the music they study and perform. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 298

"Andrew Lagerquist has been involved in the world of early keyboards since 1973, when he began working in the shop of Frank Hubbard. He later worked in the shops of William Dowd and John Phillips. Since 1990 he has been on his own pursuing instrument building, instrument repair, and concert tuning in the San Francisco area.

His great passion has become the Swedish style of clavichord making, of which he offers and has built several designs. His large clavichords after Lindholm-Söderström were prominently featured at the 2001 Boston Early Music Festival. His clavichords have been performed on in concert by Richard Troeger, Richard Fuller, Mikko Korhonen, and Pekka Vapaavuori.

His instruments are made to order in a small workshop by himself. All are based on historical examples, most of which have been personally examined. Though emphasizing Swedish clavichords, other instruments will be considered, and in fact he is currently building an early un-fretted example from the Saxon school. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 360

"If it has to do with harpsichords, clavichords, fortepianos, or antique pianos, I probably do it. Stringed keyboard instruments are my passion and my world. In addition to my hands on work, I am a dedicated player, researcher, writer and lecturer. Research, performance, building and repairs all come together to inform one another. Each instrument has to rise to my playing and historic standards.

Whether you would like to acquire an instrument, new, used, or antique, or restore, repair or decorate one you already have, get an appraisal or evaluation, schedule a tuning or concert services, I am happy to be of service. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 25, 2008 | Hits: 416

"Occasionally my clients or others would like to take a peek in the workshop to see what is going on, but they are not always able, due to time or distance, to see how their instrument is progressing.

There are also links to workshop pictures of recently completed work, as well as pictures of the completed instruments. " View website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 06, 2008 | Hits: 399

"Carl and Marilee Dudash design, build, and decorate harpsichords and clavichords in the styles of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries in their workshop in the northwest hills of Connecticut. Their instruments have been sent to customers across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Carl's designs are firmly based on historic principles, but they incorporate changes to improve structural integrity and modifications to customize the instrument to suit the client's wishes. Marilee is an accomplished artist who has studied the decoration of antique instruments in the finest museum collections in Europe and the United States. Her work includes traditional soundboard paintings, landscape paintings for lids and cases, faux marbre, chinoiserie, and gold leaf or bronze powder case designs. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 315

"My shop provides historically based finished instruments, performs restorations, repairs and instrument completions. I specialize in quilling with celcon for a dramatic increase in performance, sound and reliability. I have completed many unfinished instruments for clients who have not chosen to do so themselves for whatever reason. Repair and restoration work is performed with the intention of rendering instruments "concert" ready.

My clients here in the arid Western United States including the Aspen Music Festival and Institute, Denver School of the Arts and the University of Northern Colorado have the advantage of purchasing an instrument made from wood that has acclimated to a drier climate. All case and soundboard parts have air dried for at least seven years. Swiss pine soundboards may be as old as thirty years. After reaching my workshop these materials season for a further period of at least one month before construction begins. This insures stability of tuning and lessens the need for frequent and costly adjustments to the action. Instruments brought here from the wetter coastal areas invariably develop numerous splits and cracks in the soundboard and case. Conversely however, when I send an instrument from here to a moister environment, the wood merely expands a bit but does not break. You won't need to create a climate controlled music room for your harpsichord.

Over the past twenty-two years I have built forty+ early keyboard instruments. You may choose from several instruments including the painted French double harpsichord, Flemish single and double harpsichords, Italian harpsichord, a single manual harpsichord in hand oiled American cherry and a large or small clavichord. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 510

" ... I spent three years at Eric's (Eric Herz) workshop and then three additional years at Hubbard Harpsichords. I never met Frank Hubbard; he had died several years before. However, the firm continued in his tradition, nurtured by his widow Diane and by Hendrik Broekman, the workshop's master craftsman and himself a former apprentice of Frank's.

Eventually I decided I was ready to set up my own workshop. My first commissions were the fruits of a partnership with another ex-Hubbard employee. Finally, in 1997, with the help of my wife Marina I established my own business as David Werbeloff Harpsichords.

I have learned my craft the old-fashioned way: by apprenticing in established workshops and by soaking up the knowledge, wisdom, and experience of my teachers. I like to think of myself as a third generation representative of the Boston School of harpsichord making.

A craft tradition is not static; each craftsperson contributes a new understanding and fresh ideas to the field. In the case of harpsichord making, the practices were lost at the end of the 18th century and innovators such as Dolmetsch, Chickering and Hubbard helped bring them to life again. Now it is the task of workshops like mine to build on their pioneering work and take the harpsichord building tradition another step forward (or rather, backward) toward its golden age. " Visit site for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 24, 2008 | Hits: 649

"I began building harpsichords and clavichords shortly after graduation from college in 1975, while employed as a biochemical research technician. My growing fascination with the instruments and their music led me to return to graduate school, culminating in the receipt of a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Chicago in 1987. During my academic years I continued to produce instruments for my own use, and also carried out extensive work in the maintenance and repair of instruments by other makers. This opportunity to examine instruments by a variety of makers taught me a lot about the elements that go into a good instrument, as well as seeing first hand a number of construction practices that usually result in unhappy consequences.

It was also during this academic period that I began my long association with the Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. An initial summer internship was followed by a one-year post-graduate fellowship, which allowed me to study the surviving 16th-century Flemish virginals. In subsequent years I have frequently returned to the collection to examine various instruments. This opportunity to study the works of the great makers of the past has had a tremendous influence on my own work; each time I visit the collection I leave with an increased appreciation for the knowledge and craftsmanship of the old builders. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 24, 2008 | Hits: 536

"From muskies to marlin now anyone can make their own single strand haywire twist leaders stronger than the pros. Our E/Z Twist is available in three sizes and comes complete with easy to follow instructions. For 3-8 gauge wire (.012 - .020 dia. wire) or 32- 86 pound test. " Can also be used to make the helix loops on harpsichords (at the hitch pin). There is a video that accompanies the item on the site's catalog. Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 01, 2008 | Hits: 354

" Adam J. Decker has been serving the needs of harpsichord enthusiasts for 15 years in the Southeast. He formed Early Keyboards of Atlanta out of a growing desire to see the harpsichord's popularity reach a new zenith here in the South. Through constant interaction with universities, baroque ensembles, churches and individuals he has maintained a steady clientele of both new and repeat customers. From simple adjustments to complete technical rebuilding he is able to meet whatever early keyboard need you may have. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 03, 2008 | Hits: 459

Welcome to my web site. Yes, I'm the author of The Harpsichord Owner's Guide, but I've done more than just write HOG. Let me tell you a little about myself. I'm a musicologist, retired from the University of Iowa in 1992. I'm still actively engaged in scholarship and just completed a book on the history of the harpsichord (released in May, 2003). That instrument has been the object of my scholarly attention for more that 25 years. I've written a number of articles and reviews on it, and presented papers on early keyboard matters at many scholarly conferences. For almost 15 years I was involved in acoustical research on the harpsichord, and have done articles and presentations on that topic, too. I've written six books, three of which deal with the harpsichord. And of course, as an agent of Zuckermann Harpsichords International, I build harpsichords, too. ...

Added on: Jun 22, 2005 | Hits: 458

"Swenson's Piano Shop offers high-quality restoration of modern and historic pianos and fortepianos. Instruments restored in our workshop can be found in many places worldwide including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (photo), the Nippon Cultural Center in Tokyo (photo 1, photo 2), and the Schubert Club museum in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Beethoven Center at San José State University is the home of a Jakesch fortepiano (photo) rebuilt in our shop. A John Osborne (c. 1792-1835) square grand piano restored in our shop can be found at the Hyde Hall Historic Site near Cooperstown, NY. In the summer of 2007, we completed for the Granger Homestead and Museum in Canandaigua, NY an usual grand piano, built in 1822 by Muzio Clementi.

We specialize in the restoration of grand pianos by Bösendorfer, Bechstein, Broadwood, Blüthner, Baldwin, Chickering, Conrad Graf, Ehrbar, Feurich, Ibach, Knabe, Pleyel, Steinway & Sons, Schweighofer, Mason & Hamlin, and Stein & Streicher. We restore, buy and sell modern and historical grand pianos, including 18th- and 19th-century Viennese fortepianos. We are happy to talk about pianos and we invite questions about sales, restoration, appraisals, conservation procedures, and long-distance moving. The prices for our work and our restored instruments are surprisingly low. Please don't hesitate to contact us if we may be of service in any way.

Piano restorer Edward Swenson graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a performance degree and a certificate in piano technology. After four years of study in Austria and Italy, he received a Master's degrees from the Akademie Mozarteum in Salzburg where he was awarded the Lilli Lehmann Medallion from the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum. Completing his education in musicology at Cornell University, Swenson received a Ph.D. with a thesis on the Italian composer Antonio Salieri. Swenson is a member of the American Musical Intrument Society, American Musicological Society, The Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society, and The Piano Technicians Guild. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 26, 2008 | Hits: 407

"Since 1981, I have been making Italian harpsichords and clavichords in San Francisco, my native city. In recent years, I have been making small organs as well. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 386

"We have been custom-building fine early keyboard instruments such as harpsichords, clavichords, virginals, spinets, and fortepianos since 1968. Please browse our extensive line of custom made finished instruments and instrument kits that you can assemble yourself.

We also provide instrument finishing such as soundboard and case paintings, gilding, and original artwork as specified by the customer. Other services to address your early keyboard needs include restringing, requilling, voicing, and instrument rentals.

Let us help you to discover the fulfillment of owning a beautifully made classical harpsichord, clavichord, virginal, spinet or fortepiano. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jun 22, 2005 | Hits: 520

Anthony R. Brazier and Wm Neil Roberts -- "We have been building harpsichords and other early keyboard instruments professionally since 1976 during which time we have built over 117 instruments and repaired or restored countless dozens of other instruments owned by private individuals, colleges, schools and churches.

As Associates of the The Paris Workshop of Early Keyboard Instruments, we offer the same line of instruments that are available there. Their parts are pulled from the shelves and shipped to us for assembly, decoration and final action work. As professional performers ourselves, we have always taken great care to complete an instrument that satisfies the professional musician and the discriminating amateur. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 370

"As a well known group of harpsichord builders (from the north, south and west coast), we are dedicated to offering you the finest in early keyboard instruments.

What makes the gallery unique is that we only offer new instruments with the most discriminating keyboard player in mind. Find out why the Harpsichord Gallery has set itself apart from other known galleries.

Let us show you the pure pleasure in owning a fine musical instrument that will delight both you the owner and future generations to come. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 26, 2008 | Hits: 372