During the first half of the 19th Century Erard pianos were widely considered to be the best available and were enthusiastically endorsed by most virtuosi in Europe, including Liszt, Hummel, Thalberg and Mendelssohn’s teacher – Ignaz Moscheles.  It was probably Moscheles who introduced the young Mendelssohn to Pierre Erard – Sebastien’s nephew who had taken over the firm in 1832 following his uncle’s death.  In a letter to Moscheles dated July 1832 Mendelssohn refers to a gift from Pierre of a new piano to be shipped from London to his home in Berlin.  It arrived in October and Mendelssohn wrote to thank Pierre: ‘The piano arrived last night and since that moment I have almost not stopped playing it and admiring it; it seemed to me brand new and infinitely more beautiful than when I played it at your home the evening before my departure.  Since that day I have not seen any instruments comparable to yours… the kind way you offered it to me at Cramer’s concert and the friendship of which it is proof will forever remain in my memory, even when I no longer have the piano to remind me each day of your goodness.  It was the last moment of my stay in England, of my trip, and perhaps the happiest time in my entire life.’

The Erard here is numbered 161 and is the earliest surviving example of a grand piano made in their London factory.  It is some 7’8’’ long and as a concert instrument is undoubtedly similar in style to Mendelssohn’s piano.  We know from the piano numbered 177 in the Philharmonie de Paris that the original case had a flat stand positioned just above the ground and that the legs were of a different style.  The stand, while aesthetically pleasing, would have been impractical when moving the piano and so when the instrument was modernised in 1843 it was probably discarded and the current legs installed to mirror contemporary fashion.  The old nameboard would also have appeared dated and so a modern ‘Patent Erard London’ design was cut into the veneer of the fall (keyboard cover) to replace it.

It was relatively common during the 1840s for pianos to be to be returned to the factory and updated – something we know happened to Mendelssohn’s piano.  During this time Erard were experimenting with many aspects of both the external structure of the piano and its internal action.  Fixing metal bars into wood was problematic as the string tension caused the fixings to split the wood.  So when No. 161 went back to the factory (probably in Paris as Erard’s ‘Par Brevet d’Invention’ logo appears on the soundboard) it had a metal hitchplate installed to combat this weakness.  This adjustment also accommodated a small extension to the range in the treble and made the structure more stable.  The process of modernisation was in fact a major operation as it meant that the bridges had to be refashioned, the damper mechanism replaced and a new impoved action, now numbered 16100, installed.  But while much of the piano was updated, the soundboard – the soul of the instrument – was retained, as we know from the English writing and date on its ribs.

The most significant difference between this piano and a modern one is that the strings run parallel with the grain of the soundboard and do not cross over each other.  As a result there is a greater variety of timbre between the different registers and a clarity of sonority that is quite distinct.  In addition, the mahogany cover over the strings has an acoustic function as it reduces some of the harmonics and helps provide a more blended sound.  The recent restoration has involved replacing the wrestplank and restringing the piano with wire that closely matches the original metal.  Other materials, such as hammer and damper felts, have also been replaced sympathetically to give the piano as authentic a voice as possible.  But rather than make comparisons between old and new, it’s best to listen to the individual character of the instrument and enjoy its unique personality!

Mendelssohn gave Moscheles the first opportunity to present his new Erard to the Berlin public, but as he wrote to Pierre: ‘with the exception of an occasion like Moscheles’s concert, I have decided never to loan it to anyone, because one must be on one’s guard against the jealousy of the piano makers here, who are capable of ruining it on purpose while transporting it to the concert hall.  The difference between an instrument like yours and those that are made here is too great; it is as if one were hearing an entire orchestra beside a little piano, and I have played as infrequently as possible since I have been here.  But now I can get back to making music as the pleasure that I will have in doing so will be thanks to you.’

Pierre’s gift clearly inspired Mendelssohn’s creativity and so it is fitting that his sister’s music is to be played in the inaugural concert of the restored ‘Mendelssohn’ Erard piano.

*The possibility that this piano belonged to Felix is a good story but it is almost certainly not his. Although some of the historical facts, such as when it was manufactured and its return to the factory for modernising, are strikingly similar, Felix’s was probably destroyed in World War II. 

The ‘Mendelssohn’ Erard piano was restored by Nigel Scaife at The Piano Shop Kent