$25,000.00
4548
Stodart 1812 Fortepiano- Concert ready instrument: Grand, CC-c4. Case of mahogany with rosewood crossbanding and brass stringing. Four round tapered, fluted legs with brass casters. Wood frams instrument with iron braces. Naturals are Ivory with ebony sharps. The instrument has an English grand action with leather covered hammers; with "feather duster" wool cloth dampers. There are two pedals: Keyboard shift (due corda and una codra), and damper. restoration was completed in January of 2005 by Robert Murphy, Bath, MI.
This instrument is currently in Michigan.
Demonstration of this instrument by Matthew Bengtson, DMA
HISTORY:
English piano making firm founded in 1775 by Robert Stodart, apprentice and tuner to the infamous John Broadwood; credited along with Broadwood and Americus Backers, with the development of the English grand action; in 1777 he patented a piano-harpsichord. William Stodart, Robert's son, became a partner in the firm in the 1790's being joined by his brother, Matthew, in 1794. Soon after this, Robert retired and William and Matthew were listed as partners as late as 1822.
Stodart was not only a successtul firm, but, important to the rest of the piano world due, no doubt, to the quality and ingenuity of their design. Though "Broadwoodesque* in appearance, there are fewer surviving Stodarts than their look alike Broadwoods. Martha Clinkscale lists fewer than 20 extant grands by Stodart in her notable Makers of the Piano 1700-1820 New York, 1993), further noting only one Stodart grand in the U.S. (presently in the Shrine to Music Museum) compared to over a hundred Broadwood grands in Europe and the U.S.
4/10/23 ~ This instrument has been sold.
