Copy by Thomas and Barbara Wolf, 1991
Gift of Malcolm Bilson
5 Octaves and Two Notes
Johann Schantz (1762–1828) was born in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). He established a workshop with his brother Wenzel outside Vienna in the 1780s. Their first instruments were unsigned. After Wenzel’s death in 1791, Johann became a member of the instrument makers’ guild and the workshop began producing signed instruments.
In Vienna around 1800 there were more than 100 fortepiano builders. The most famous was Anton Walter (Mozart’s instrument was a Walter). Schantz, however, built excellent instruments as well, praised by both Haydn and Beethoven.
This replica (and the original on which it is based) features a moderator operated by hand stop.
