Hermann Lichtenthal

Lichtenthal-Piano, Brussels, approx. 1830. In the Brussels Musical Instrument Museum

Hermann Lichtenthal (* 1795 in Silesia , † October 15, 1853 in Saint Petersburg ) was a manufacturer of pianos in Brussels and later in Saint Petersburg. Numerous patents can be traced back to his ingenuity.

history

Lichtenthal first opened a workshop in Brussels around 1823 on Waterloo-Boulevard 27. Then he moved to Saint Petersburg and founded his own factory there in 1840, which soon employed 50 workers. One of his master craftsmen was Johann Tresselt from Thuringia, who later became the owner of the J. Tresselt piano factory .

Lichtenthal owed the establishment of the factory to the Russification policy of Tsar Nikolaus until his death in 1855. The establishment of the Lichtenthal factory coincided with this modernization of Russian industry. Restrictive import duties from 1841 resulted in an almost unlimited market for domestic instruments. Furthermore, low wages and tax savings enabled a monopoly for Russian-made pianos.

“At the beginning of the forties, the Belgian pianoforte manufacturer Hermann Lichtenthal appeared in Petersburg, who followed the English system of piano building. This, which today in North America finds itself pushed to the extreme point of its principle, aims to achieve a more powerful effect of the hammers on the strings through increased resistance of the key mechanics, and thereby to make the tone sound fuller, like the followers of this system (mistakenly) think. Lichtenthal had known Franz Liszt from earlier times , and when this star of the highest piano virtuosity, who was just emerging at the time, arrived in Petersburg in 1842, Lichtenthal asked him to use his (i.e. Lichtenthal's) instruments for the concerts that were scheduled here would like to. Anyone who was fortunate enough to get to know the wonderful, amiable Franz Liszt better knows that he could not refuse any request, if only somehow he could be fulfilled. In addition, Liszt was aware of his ingenious high mastery; He didn't care what kind of instrument any instrument showed; he only had to let one, at most two passages slide over the keys for rehearsal - often only with his left hand alone - and immediately even the most monstrous piano was completely subject to him. In the following year (1843) Liszt also played on Lichtenthal's instruments in his concerts here and in Moscow. "

- Jouryi from Arnold

Around 1885, in addition to Lichtentahls, there were 60 other factories in Saint Petersburg as well as larger and smaller other factories that had dedicated themselves to piano manufacturing. With a few exceptions, all of these were instrument makers from the Baltic or from Germany. Names like Schröder, Mühlbach , Tischner, Becker or Diederichs adorned the pianos.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ludwig Damböck: Report on the trade exhibition of the Russian Empire in St. Petersburg in 1849. Gerold, 1849, p. 186 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
2. ↑ Quoted from Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. 1896, Volume 92, Part 2 [1]
3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated November 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.