Lyre wing
The lyre grand piano is a special form of the upright piano that was especially fashionable in Berlin in the first quarter of the 19th century. The lyre wing is symmetrical and outwardly designed like an oversized lyre and was a decorative piece of furniture for the classically furnished house of that time. This design comes from the manufacture of Johann Christian Schleip , but there were also other craftsmen who built Schleip's models.
The lyre grand piano has strings perpendicular to the keyboard, as we know it from the modern pianino ; At the top, however, it is not closed off by a horizontal top plate, but has the body shape of a stylized lyre (hence the name of the instrument). The external shape of the instrument does not take into account the acoustic construction requirements (long strings on the left in the bass area, continuously shortening strings on the right towards the treble ).
literature
- Anne Beetem Acker: Lyre piano. In: Grove Music Online , May 25, 2016
Web links
- Lyre grand piano in the Handel House (the picture of the "lyre grand piano" can be found if you scroll down to about the middle of the page)
- Lyre grand piano from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston)
- Lyre pianos from the Dohr collection in the Eller House Piano Museum