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Bach knew about pianos, he even worked as a “piano salesman” for a period of time > Bach went on to become an agent for Silbermann, selling his pianos in Leipz

Bach knew about pianos, he even worked as a “piano salesman” for a period of time > Bach went on to become an agent for Silbermann, selling his pianos in Leipzig. There’s even a receipt signed by Bach on May 9, 1749, selling a “Piano et Forte” to a Polish count, Jan Casimir von Branitzky. From https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2016/07/did-bach-hate-pianos.html https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2016/07/di...

jacquesm 7y ago
Bach's criticism of Silbermann's earlier pianos led to substantial improvements.
- mastazi 7y ago
  Yes, he hated pianos when he first had the opportunity to try them. It is possible however that the first Silbermann prototypes, which is what he tried, were of low quality, even compared to other early pianos of the time. He certainly changed his opinion over time though and I agree with you that Silbermann must have listened to Bach’s early criticism. Anyway it is probable that Bach’s favourite keyboard instrument was the lute-harpsichord (see other link I posted in this thread).
tim333 7y ago
Ah ok I got that a bit wrong. Though he would have been 64 at the time of sale and died a year after so I guess they were around in the later part of his life.
- mastazi 7y ago
  You didn’t get it completely wrong in the sense that piano was in its infancy at the time and nowhere near the capabilities and sonic features of modern pianos. So it is possible that when Bach wrote his “fur klavier” (“for keyboard instruments”) compositions, he didn’t have piano in mind. Probably his favourite keyboard instrument was the lute-harpsichord since he owned one https://baroquemusic.org/barluthp.html https://baroquemusic.org/barluthp.html
  - ccffpphh 7y ago
    That's awesome. I'd never heard of the lute-harpsichord before, but the sound is great! The bass is so deep and mellow, but otherwise sounds pretty similar to a harpsichord. I love it, thank you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNYJirAcyJo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNYJirAcyJo

jacquesm 7y ago

Bach's criticism of Silbermann's earlier pianos led to substantial improvements.

mastazi 7y ago
Yes, he hated pianos when he first had the opportunity to try them. It is possible however that the first Silbermann prototypes, which is what he tried, were of low quality, even compared to other early pianos of the time. He certainly changed his opinion over time though and I agree with you that Silbermann must have listened to Bach’s early criticism. Anyway it is probable that Bach’s favourite keyboard instrument was the lute-harpsichord (see other link I posted in this thread).

tim333 7y ago

Ah ok I got that a bit wrong. Though he would have been 64 at the time of sale and died a year after so I guess they were around in the later part of his life.

mastazi 7y ago
You didn’t get it completely wrong in the sense that piano was in its infancy at the time and nowhere near the capabilities and sonic features of modern pianos. So it is possible that when Bach wrote his “fur klavier” (“for keyboard instruments”) compositions, he didn’t have piano in mind. Probably his favourite keyboard instrument was the lute-harpsichord since he owned one https://baroquemusic.org/barluthp.html https://baroquemusic.org/barluthp.html
- ccffpphh 7y ago
  That's awesome. I'd never heard of the lute-harpsichord before, but the sound is great! The bass is so deep and mellow, but otherwise sounds pretty similar to a harpsichord. I love it, thank you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNYJirAcyJo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNYJirAcyJo