Evening star., 1902-08-16

Since this alternately swelled and contract
ed with atmospheric changes the strings
stretched upon it were never subjected 1.
the same strain. and were therefore col.-
tinually out of tune.
The Iron Frame.
The improvement mentioned above con-
sisted In the use OF an iron frame. cast IN
a single solid piece. This allowed muca
greater tension Of the strings, with a cor
responding Improvement in tone quality, Tor
a string stretched TO its utmost limit yields
its largest. purest and most brilliant tone.
IN all early pianos the strings were strain
ca hardly TO the tension OF a violin sttI.Ig.
by 1876 frames were made capable OF sus-
tanning string tension OF twelve and one
half tons. In that year Theodore SteinWay
OF New York completed a series OF metal
lurgical experiments which had lasted
more than six years, and had taken him 10
many of the leading iron works OF Europe.
lhese experiments resulted in tho t"rieC-
ton OF a frame capable OF sustain ~, a
tension Of thirty tons.
The cast-iron frame, perfected by Jonas
ShlckerlnS OF Boston and others, and thS
method OF overstringing. perfected aud pat
ented by Steipway * Sons OF New York m
lSJS and 1862, constitute probably the most
important contributions the United States
mas made TO the manufacture OF pianos.
Both OF these improvements hava been very
generally adopted in Europe as well as IN
the United States.
American Progress Since 1851.
The position Of the piano industry in the
United States as early as 1871 Is Indicated
by the statement of an English writer re-
garding the pianos exhibited at the inter
national exhibition in London in ISL. that
England had far outstripped every other
nation. with the exception OF America in
the manufacture Of pianos" Sine, THAI
date. as shown by statistics given earlier
IN TINS report. the progress OF the industry
has been very great. At he same Tine the
art OF piano making has been brought to
great perfection. Almost all the important
inventions, within the last ndlf CENTURY by
which the tone and durabi, ty of pianos
nave been enhanced and Increased have
originated with American mauufa cturers
many OF these improvements being imitat-
ed In Europe as soon as the details became
known. No grand piano Of foreign make
has ever been publicly heard I'm the United
states since the advent of Thalberg now
nearly forty years ago; buT many first
class American concert pianos have been
and are at present publicly used In the art
centers OF Europe by the greatest artists
The manufacture in the United States has
been favored by the abundance OF wood
suitable for sounding boards as well as for
piano cases, The president OF the New
York Piano Makers Association remarked
In an address some years ago. Just as
Italian and Tyrolese forests made Amatt
violins possible in Cremona so American
lumber has made it possible TO bring plano
lis'hihs " It's HlBneSl perfection IN this
country
The history of the piano manufacture in
the United States is characterized by the
rise of two schools, the New York school"
and the Boston school" 1t is curious to
note how cities comparatively near each
other were able for many years to main
tain technical conceptions and customs I'm
relation TO piano construction so consid-
erably al variance. The fun ca st-tron frame
originated in Boston and was soon general
ly adopted in that city Manufacturers in
New York, however. refused for years to
see its superior advantages. on the other
hand, Boston manufacturers cung TO ~
inferior piano action long after the i'm
proved action had been generally intro
duced into pianos made in New York
The Boston school was American, such
traditions as 1t possessed being chiefly
English, and its instruments were light In
action and thin, sensitive and very musical
in tone. The New York school. on the
other hand, was essentially German in it's
antecedents. Its instruments were such as
might be expected from musicians who
'worshiped the lusty genius of Beethoven
and Wagner" These differences were
marked as late as 1876. but have largely
disappeared since then.
Nativity of Piano Makers.
In 1850 the overwhelming majority of
piano artisans were of American nativity.
while since that time, and now for many
years, almost all are either foreign born
(moStly GERMANY or sons OF foreign born
parents.
Nearly all pianos made in the United
States during the first half of the nine
teenth century were square pianos. spe-
cies of upright pianos had been made by
Loud & Bros. of Philadelphia early as
1876, and Jonas Chickering, one of the
pioneers of the American piano industry,
had constructed the first American grand
piano in 1910. Up to the year 1866. how
ever. fully "a per cent of all the pianos
made in the United States were square
pianos. Since that date a complete revOlu-
ton has taken place in the piano indus
try. The manufacture of square pianos
has now almost entirely ceased. The pro-
duction in the United States in 1900 con-
sisted of 91.4 per cent upright, % per cent
grand and one-tenth of l per cent square
pianos. The manufacture of pianos in the
United States formerly confined TO
New York. Boston, Baltimore and Phila-
delphia. Between 1880 and 1890 the indus
try began to assume Importance in Chi
cago, and this city in 1900 ranked next to
New York in the value Of pianos produced.