Behind the Diabelli Variations

[Rod]

Originally posted by Peter:
Sorry for the mistake - I knew Erard had a French base, but I thought there was also a Viennese factory as well.
With quite a few firms now offering reproductions of Fortepianos it will be interesting to see further developments and if your commercial arguments really hold up.

B's Erard was a gift like his Broadwood, I'd be surprised if E would make such an instrument in Vienna as its nature did not suit the Viennese taste at that time. But I can't say for sure about whether any were made outside France at that time.

I was unaware that firms were making fps in any quantity, all the reproductions I have heard have been made virtually by individuals and are unfeasibly expensive. Of course there is the further element as to whether performers in large numbers would actually appreciate these instruments and thus have the desire to play them. Time will tell, but for me the halcyon days of the fp revival have already come and gone, so perhaps the desire will never come regardless of price. By Commerciallity, what I meant does not really concern the initial price, it concerns how much money you can potentially earn by playing.

Rod

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin