Gijs Clement
Tangentenflügel - Springerflügel

A tangent piano, or springer piano, is a special type of pianoforte in which the strings are not struck by a hinged hammer, but by a tangent – a loose piece of wood that springs against the strings. This direct contact between the hard wood and the strings produces a brilliant sound reminiscent of a harpsichord, but one that can be adjusted into a variety of timbres through various tone modifications. Combined with its dynamic capabilities, this results in a highly versatile instrument.

The tangent grand piano was developed at the end of the eighteenth century by the Regensburg piano-makers Frantz Jakob Spath and Christoph Friedrich Schmahl. Their instruments were extremely popular and were exported throughout Europe; several other makers copied their work and built tangent grand pianos in the style of Spath and Schmahl. My master’s project centres on the reconstruction of an Italian tangentenflügel, built by Baldassare Pastore in Milan in 1799, richly decorated with hunting scenes and a musical Orpheus rendered in marquetry. This instrument is being compared with the original German instruments by Spath and Schmahl.