200th Birthday of a Piano
On 10 May 2024, the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University held a special concert celebrating the 200th birthday of a piano. WAAPA is lucky to be home to a grand pianoforte built in London in 1824 by John Broadwood & Sons.
The instrument once belonged to the Irish flautist Andrew Ashe (1757–1838). Ashe was among the most highly-respected flautists of his day. He spent the early years of his career on the European continent, playing in noble houses and as first flute at the opera in Brussels. He returned to Ireland in the 1780s, where he continued to make a name for himself. Later, he was sought out by Johann Peter Saloman (1745–1815), the impresario who would be responsible for bringing the famous composer Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) to London in the 1790s. Saloman travelled to Dublin to hear Ashe, and engaged him as flautist for the orchestra that would be led by Haydn during the latter’s time London. Ashe remained in London until 1810, before moving to Bath to work as director of the Bath concert series. In 1822, he was appointed as professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, but retired to Dublin shortly thereafter.
The Broadwood piano was purchased by Ashe on 14 August 1824. Its serial number is 9938, and is the model designated by Broadwood as a Horizontal Grand Pianoforte with 6 1/2 Octaves, CC to FF, in a rosewood case with ornamentations. After purchase on 14 August 1824, the instrument was shipped from the Broadwood factory to the Swan inn at Holborn, London, then by wagon to Bristol, from where it travelled by sea to Ashe's home in Dublin.
Ashe’s piano eventually found its way to Australia, and into the collection of Stewart Symonds (1937–2020), who in 2016 generously gifted it, along with many other instruments, to Edith Cowan University. The instrument has since undergone a meticulous restoration by the master craftspeople at Piano's Maene in Belgium. The restoration was made possible thanks to the generosity of a philanthropic donor. We are very privileged to have such a fine example of an early nineteenth century Broadwood here in Perth, and much sincere gratitude is felt by those who are lucky enough to play and study with this fabulous instrument. The instrument is similar in many ways to the 1817 Broadwood piano that once belonged to Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827).
On Friday 10 May 2024, WAAPA hosted a concert called “Mr Ashe’s Broadwood” in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the piano. The concert was directed by Stewart Smith, Senior Lecturer and director of the Centre for Keyboard Heritage and Performance Research at WAAPA.
The concert featured, along with Ashe’s 1824 Broadwood, several other historical instruments: an 1876 John Broadwood & Sons grand piano, a circa 1895 Richard Lipp upright piano, and as well as a portable American Reed Organ, circa 1890, that was once used by church missionaries to accompany hymns.
It was fascinating to compare the 1824 Broadwood to the 1876 instrument by the same company. Though fifty years of development separate the two pianos, they noticeably share some DNA. There are numerous technical differences between them, making the later instrument much fuller in sound, with greater sustain and power—but various design features remain common. As a player, I noticed the unusually large wooden pedals, which feel quite unergonomic to use on the older instrument. One hoped they might’ve adopted more conventional small metal pedals by the 1870s, but alas they did not, at least on this particular example. The instruments also share a very similar construction, with the same “straight-strung” design with only minimal iron bars supporting the frame, though the later instrument does make use of a metal plate as part of the frame itself. This design was on the cutting edge in 1824, but would probably have seemed antiquated by 1876.
The concert opened with Haruka Smyth, who played a favourite nocturne by another Irishman, John Field (1782–1837), and an early polonaise by Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), both pieces contemporaneous with the instrument. It is always interesting to hear works that are relatively well-known played on the kind of instrument for which they were written. The Field nocturnes particularly, which sometimes seem lacklustre on the modern piano, absolutely come alive on English pianos of the period—fully attesting to the dreamy and delicate sonorities with which Field held Europe spellbound in the 1820s. Smyth presented both works with admirable clarity, charm and poise.
WAAPA PhD candidate Jordan Proctor played two works to give further insight into the kind of music that was contemporaneous with the 1824 Broadwood. First, a work by one of nineteenth-century England’s most eminent composer-pianists, Cipriani Potter (1792–1871). Like Andrew Ashe, Potter was associated with the Royal Academy of Music in London, and was appointed as a professor of piano in the same year that Ashe was appointed professor of flute, in 1822. Proctor is currently a researching the solo piano music of Potter. For the concert, Proctor selected a work by Potter written in the very year the Broadwood piano was built—1824. As Proctor explained in a spoken introduction, the delightful introduction and rondo called Il Compiacente, Op.16, was likely inspired by the operas of Giacomo Rossini (1792–1868), which were all the rage in London at the time.
Proctor followed the Potter composition with a composition by Mozart, edited by Potter. In his youth, Potter studied with two pupils of Mozart, Thomas Atwood (1765–1838) and Joseph Woelfl (1773–1812). Potter went on to become one of the most highly respected musicians in London, being appointed to principal of the Royal Academy of Music in 1832. In later years, he was involved in editing for publication a complete edition of the piano works of Mozart. From Potter’s edition, Proctor played Mozart’s Adagio in B minor. As Proctor explained in his spoken introduction, Potter’s edition represents a kind of adaptation of Mozart’s music to suit the character of the English piano, very different in aesthetic from the Viennese piano with which Mozart was accustomed. Mozart’s sombre Adagio took on an ethereal melancholy on the 1824 Broadwood.
Proctor returned to the stage with Eva Hinsman and myself, to perform another work by Cipriani Potter—a Trio in B flat major for five hands on one piano. The work is in two movements, a march and a rondo. It was so much fun to rehearse and perform this music, which bounces along with easy lightness on the 1824 piano. It’s the kind of music that eschews “interpretation”, it’s a chance to practise the joy of playing music just for fun!
With the 1876 Broadwood, Stewart Smith accompanied Sholto Foss in the song Verrat by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). The later piano immediately gave the impression of grandeur alongside the more delicate 1824 instrument—a much bigger sound, with a greater dynamic range. The performance demonstrated the darker side of the instrument, particularly in its lower register.
Next, I played Liszt’s Sposalizio (Marriage or Wedding) on the 1876 Broadwood. The composition, published in 1858, was inspired by Raphael’s painting of the same name, depicting the marriage of Mary and Joseph. The piece expresses the feelings of a wedding day, with a suggestion of the fateful mysticism associated with the figures depicted in Raphael’s painting. It opens with the sound of chiming bells. There’s hopeful excitement combined with a tinge of uncertain anticipation, which becomes glorious, radiant beauty before the music fades into the distance. It’s one of Liszt’s great inspirations. It feels very much at home on the period instrument, revealing a softness that is sometimes lost on the modern piano.
After a brief exposé of the c.1890 American Reed Organ, Stewart Smith was joined on stage by three singers, Sarah Ganon, Scout Simmonds and Sholto Foss, to share some fin de siècle impressions on the period correct c.1895 Richard Lipp upright piano. The Lipp piano recently arrived in Perth from Adelaide, as part of the incredibly generous donation of the David Forward Collection to Edith Cowan University.
Today we tend to think of upright pianos as less glamorous than the average grand piano. Designed for the domestic setting, they tend to bring to mind a homely aesthetic: great for practice, but not much else. This c.1895 Richard Lipp upright, however, completely reverses any prejudice one might have had for this species of piano design. It is undoubtedly a sight to behold—gorgeously decorated with stylish gold-leaf pinstriping and ornate candle sconces, it even has a matching piano stool.
But to hear it is a different story altogether. Simply, it has to be one of the most ravishingly beautiful sounding instruments I’ve ever come across. Even on this stage alongside two much larger concert pianos, it stands up confidently and fills the room with glorious song.
I was lucky enough to play the Lipp for the closing number of the concert. I chose a favourite of mine, the Romance Op.6, by the famous late-nineteenth century piano virtuoso Sophie Menter (1846–1918). The Lipp has what one might call a “money octave”, a particularly juicy section of the instrument where melodies shine out with luxuriant radiance. As if she knew—Menter set the melody of her Romance entirely in the compass of this “money octave”. This piano produces some of the most beautiful sounds imaginable.
It was a lot of fun being involved in this concert. There was an excellent turnout of patrons, who seemed to enjoy the kaleidoscope of different pianos, which each have such wondrously unique voices.
