Category:Grand piano (c.1790) by Ferdinand Hofmann. MET 1984.34

References[edit]

• Ferdinand Hofmann (ca. 1790). [1984.34] Grand Piano. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, since 1984, Accession Number: 1984.34 , ObjectID: 503677.
  "​ Maker: Ferdinand Hofmann (Austrian, 1756–1829 Vienna) ",
  "​This beautifully preserved cherry-wood piano, which retains the maker's fragile wax seal on a label inside, was built by Ferdinand Hofmann, a leading member of Vienna's civic keyboard-maker's association. He became its president in 1806 and won a court appointment. The striking, almost architectural decor of this instrument typifies the maker's early work. Knee levers lift the dampers and a knob over the nameplate operates a mute, or moderator. The instrument has a five-octave range (sixty-one notes) and is double-strung in the bass and middle registers and triple-strung in the treble. The piano is of the type that was customary in Mozart’s day. "