Milano, Trieste e Genova: sulle tracce dei pianoforti viennesi lungo la via di Barcellona (1800-1840)

Abstract

In Spain, the first half of the 19th century saw the establishment of small workshops dedicated to piano making, especially in Madrid, Seville and Barcelona. The predominant piano model imported and adopted by Spanish builders such as Francisco Flórez and Francisco Fernández (both with a seat in the Royal Household) was the English one. Barcelona was an exception, where the Viennese piano became, between 1820 and 1840, the benchmark model for both importing and building. From sources of a commercial, notarial, judicial and documentary nature, this article provides hitherto unpublished information on the importing of Viennese pianos to Barcelona between 1800 and 1840, documented to have been made possible thanks to the commercial intermediation of Milan, Trieste and Genoa. Moreover, reference is made to the merchants, music editors and impresarios, instrument makers and musicians from Italy and Barcelona involved in the trade of Viennese pianos, who therefore played a part in the dissemination and success of this model in the Catalan capital. Lastly, data such as the instruments’ costs and the names of the most sought-after Viennese piano builders have been included, as well as graphic documentation on some of the Barcelona-made pianos built in the Viennese tradition that are currently housed in the Barcelona Music Museum. Therefore, against the backdrop of the intense circulation of music and Italian musicians in Spain in the first half of the 19th century, Barcelona became an extension of the Italian Viennese piano market, a well-consolidated market in northern Italy and Naples.