Fred Schaeffer Sturm

University of New Mexico | UNM · Department of Music

Translation of a text prepared by Pierre Érard for the 1834 Paris Exposition. While this was written for purposes of publicity, it contains a great deal of primary historical material, in the form of Pierre writing about things he had heard from his uncle Sébastien. It also includes some excellent action drawings.

Translation of Pierre Érard's brochure, prepared for the Paris Exposition of 1844. Like his brochure for the 1834 Exposition, this text was written for advertising purposes, but includes considerable historical material about the Érard firm.

This is a series of nine articles published in the Piano Technicians Journal between May, 2010 and March, 2011. It covers the history of European temperament tuning practice from the Renaissance to the adoption of equal temperament in the 18th and 19th centuries. It begins by introducing the problems inherent in temperament, and then describes each...

Detail's of Villa-Lobos' year-long concert tour through over 100 cities in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The piano technician who accompanied him on that tour, along with three other musicians, gave a first hand account, including many intimate details of life on the road with the famous Brazilian composer.

The sostenuto pedal was originally invented by Boisselot of Marseille in 1844. That invention was adapted and adopted by Claude Montal, and used in his pianos through 1865. The principle was reinvented in the United States by Hanchett. His invention seems to have been stolen by Steinway. Subsequent patent disputes were rendered moot by the discover...

Jorgensen's methodology was contrary to good historical practice. Many of his assertions are unsupported by the sources he cites, and others seem to have been simply invented. His book should not be relied on as an accurate depiction of historical tuning practice.