Burkhardt Tschudi (d. 1773), from about 1728 a harpsichord-maker in London, had from 1761 a Scotch employee, John Broadwood (d. 1812), who in 1769 became his son-in-law and in 1770 his partner. The latter succeeded to the business, and the firm, after the admission of two sons in 1795 and 1807, became John Broadwood & Sons, which title still persists. From 1773 Broadwood used Zumpe's method of making square pianos and from 1780 a model of his own, in which for the first time the tuning-pins were placed on the left, besides from 1788 stretching the heavy strings over a separate bridge. He was the first to apply the damper-pedal and the 'soft pedal' substantially as now.
The tendency of the English makers was toward a somewhat
stiff, but positive, action, and a firm, sonorous tone. Their
standard of effect was the harpsichord, with its adaptation to
the concert-stage and to use with the orchestra. Ultimately,
with improvements in the stringing, the hammers and the
soundboard, their instruments developed a fine capacity for a
sustained singing tone. Meanwhile, in Austria another line of
progress began, tending toward a lighter action and a sweeter,
more delicate tone. The effects here were suggested rather by
the clavichord, with its fitness for private use and for the chamber
ensemble. This type proved less valuable and influential
than the other, but served to differentiate a significant school
of pianists.
Andreas Stein (d. 1792) seems to have been the restorer of piano-making
in Germany. He was a leading builder of organs and harpsichords, at work
at Augsburg before 1777, when Mozart first tried his pianos. His action was
novel in that the hammer is reversed, the head toward the front, and is
carried bodily by the key-tail, while the hammer-tail 'escapes' from a notch in
a fixed hopper behind. The dampers could be raised by a knee-lever and the
keys shifted by a pedal for una corda effects. The practical success of his
instruments led Mozart to turn to the piano.
Nanette Streicher (d. 1833) was Stein's daughter, a precocious player at 8 (1777) and a capable and cultivated woman. She inherited the business, which she moved to Vienna and managed with energy for over 40 years, partly with her brother Matthäus and later with her husband, Johann Andreas Streicher, and their son. She and her brother greatly improved the Stein action and became the founders of the Viennese type of construction. She was an intimate friend of Beethoven.
Sébastien Érard (d. 1831), a young harpsichord-maker from Strassburg, made the first French piano in 1777, following foreign models. He and his brother were opposed for a time by the luthiers' guild, but in 1785 received a royal permit to make pianos independently. From 1786 Erard lived in London, and in 1796, returning to Paris, introduced the English grand action there. His own important improvements in both the piano and the harp belong to the next period (see sec. 183).
