Johann Andreas Stein

• 1. Heidelsheim And The Journeyman Years

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  Johann Georg Andreas Stein was born on the 16th of May 1728 in Heidelsheim. He learned his trade as an organ builder from his father within that same village. His early years were spent mastering the craft of building large pipe organs before he ever touched a piano key. From August 1748 to January 1749, Stein worked as a journeyman at two distinct workshops. He first traveled to Strasbourg to work for Johann Andreas Silbermann. Silbermann was the eldest son of Andreas Silbermann and the brother of Gottfried Silbermann. Stein then moved to Regensburg to work under Franz Jakob Späth. This period of travel exposed him to different regional styles of instrument making. He settled in Augsburg around 1750 and became a citizen there by 1756 or 1757. In 1757, he completed a magnificent organ for the Barfüßerkirche church. That same year, he began working as an organist at the church. By the 1760s, Stein gave up organ building to focus entirely on stringed keyboard instruments.

• 2. The Poli-Toni-Clavichordium And Melodica

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  Stein built clavichords, harpsichords, and pianos throughout his career. He also created more extraordinary hybrid instruments that combined multiple functions into single cases. The Augsburg Intelligenzblatt described one such creation in 1769 called the Poli-Toni-Clavichordium. This massive instrument combined a large harpsichord with four choirs of strings against a piano mechanism. Another invention from 1772 was the Melodica, a small organ where touch could alter volume. Stein published a description of this device in 1772 expressing dissatisfaction with existing keyboards. He felt they lacked expressivity compared to the human voice or violin. His goal was to create instruments that allowed players to shape sound dynamically. A surviving example of a combination instrument exists in Gothenburg’s Historical Museum today. It features a piano paired with a single rank of organ pipes. These experiments showed his confidence in stringed keyboard technology before he perfected his hammer action shortly before 1780.

• 3. Prellzungenmechanik Escapement Mechanism

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  Stein's most important innovation appeared around 1780 as the Prellzungenmechanik. This mechanism became known as the German hammer action. Each hammer sat on top of the key with its head closer to the player. The hammers functioned like asymmetrical levers with a small upward-facing hook called a beak. When a player depressed the key, the entire assembly rose. The beak engaged an escapement hopper attached to the keyframe. The hopper pulled down on the beak causing the hammer to fly upward and strike the string. The escapement hopper was hinged and sprung so it permitted the beak to push past it. This design offered remarkable control especially when playing softly. It was astonishingly responsive to the player's touch. Stein may have been the first to produce a knee lever for dampers. His device allowed players to disengage all dampers from strings simultaneously. Previous versions required hand levers that could only be used during pauses. Stein's knee lever enabled continuous pedaling similar to modern pianos.

• 4. Mozart And The Augsburg Visit Of 1777

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  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited Stein in Augsburg during 1777. He wrote an enthusiastic letter to his father Leopold about the instruments he found there. Mozart stated he preferred Stein's pianofortes over those made by Späth. He noted that Stein's instruments dampened much better than Regensburg models. The tone remained even regardless of how keys were touched. Stein guaranteed the soundboard would not break or split. He tested durability by exposing finished instruments to rain, snow, and sun. Stein often cut into the wood himself then glued it back together. He believed this process ensured structural integrity. A surviving instrument from 1777 exists in Verona as part of a Vis-à-vis combination case. That piano featured a different hammer action but still included an escapement mechanism. Mozart likely encountered this earlier design before Stein perfected his German action around 1780. The oldest known piano bearing Stein's label dates from 1780. Mozart later bought a piano from Anton Walter after moving to Vienna in 1781.

• 5. Nannette Streicher And The Family Firm

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  Stein founded an important piano-making dynasty that outlived him. His daughter Nannette took leadership of the firm around 1790 when illness struck her father. She married Andreas Streicher in 1794 and moved the business to Vienna with her brother Matthäus. They inscribed their instruments with Frère et Sœur Stein in Wien during autumn 1802. After separating from her brother, Nannette used the name Nannette Streicher née Stein in Wien. By 1807 she had developed her father's small five-octave piano into a grand piano of six-and-a-half octaves. Improvements continued until 1811 when her design remained largely unchanged. Her son Johann Baptist Streicher became joint owner in 1823. Meanwhile André Stein, another brother, continued building pianos independently. He obtained citizenship of Vienna in 1803 and flourished through the 1820s. Friedrich Wieck acquired a Hammerflügel by André Stein for his daughter Clara in 1828. That instrument now resides in the Robert Schumann House in Zwickau.

• 6. Surviving Instruments And Modern Recordings

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  About fifteen Hammerflügel bearing Stein's label survive today ranging from 1780 to 1794. Two remain privately owned while others reside in public collections like Budapest National Museum. Ronald Brautigam recorded Ludwig van Beethoven complete works on a replica made by Paul McNulty. Alexei Lubimov and colleagues performed Beethoven sonatas using copies built by McNulty. These recordings bring historical instruments back to life for modern audiences. The firm ceased production in 1896 just over one hundred years after moving to Vienna. Numerous instruments by André Stein survive including more than twenty Hammerflügel dating from about 1803 to at least 1838. At least twenty-six square pianos exist mostly after 1815. Two upright Hammerflügel also remain in existence. Most of these pianos are held in public collections across Europe. Emil Streicher owned the Hammerflügel of 1808 which is now part of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum collection. Carl Andreas Stein continued his father's footsteps as both maker and composer before dying in May 1842.