The piano will be presented on November 30 at the fifth lecture, "In the Glare of Invention, or Local Virtuosos and Piano Masters in a European Context."
In the nineteenth century, the piano was one of those items that received the most attention at world exhibitions and numerous handicraft expositions throughout Europe at the time. In the catalogs of things this instrument "shone" next to the most sophisticated inventions and technical achievements. In turn, romantic virtuosos shone on the increasingly large and numerous stages, dazzling audiences with their brilliance. One of them was Ignacy Jan Paderewski, whose trail leads us to the Kerntopf label in Warsaw. Looking at the relationship between pianists and piano-masters, we will observe various "inventions" in piano music of the late 19th century.
Instrument characteristics: Concert instrument made by Kerntopf and son in 1894, varnished black with numerous woodcarving elements. The instrument has a G-c5 range keyboard, and is equipped with a Schwander repetition mechanism. The hammers of the piano are covered with felt. The cast-iron frame with a cross-arrangement. According to recent discoveries, the instrument was exhibited at the National Exhibition in Lviv in 1894 with the notation "made for Ignacy Jan Paderewski".
The piano's dimensions: 261 cm x 159 cm x 98 cm. National exhibitions and inventions, the piano in the land of the unusual, outstanding Polish virtuosos and the relationship of virtuos with the piano. Jan Kerntopf, as a pupil of Bucholtz, continued the Warsaw manufacturing tradition. His son, Edward Konstanty, practiced in several German cities.
He was also associated with the Warsaw Conservatory. He was linked by a long-standing friendship with Paderewski, whom he supported spiritually and financially. The presented model was one of the first to implement keyboard extension in the bass register.
The instrument comes from the Piano and Pianos Workshop of Andrzej Wlodarczyk from Slupno near Radzymin.
The Association of Polish Piano Tuners is implementing the project "Polish Piano. Art - Science - Craft" subsidized by the National Institute of Music and Dance under Investment A2.5.1 Program to support the activities of entities of the cultural and creative industries to stimulate their development within the framework of the National Plan for Reconstruction and Increasing Resilience. The amount of funding is PLN 81,992.
