This specific tangent piano, built by Christoph Friedrich Schmahl in 1790, is believed to be the only one in the world that survives in largely original form.
Instruments
The tangent piano, built by Christoph Friedrich Schmahl in Regensburg in 1790, is unique because its strings are struck by small wooden slips called 'tangents' instead of hammers.
Critical Reception
Despite being praised by contemporaries like Daniel Gottlob Türk and Christoph Martin Wieland, Ernst Wilhelm Wolf was strongly disliked by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who called him a 'charlatan'.
Composer Biography
Wolf married Maria Carolina Benda, a singer and harpsichord player who was also a lady-in-waiting to Duchess Anna Amalia of Saxe-Weimar.
Composer Biography
Ernst Wilhelm Wolf, the composer, was deeply admired by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, who was impressed by Wolf's talent when he first heard his pieces in 1752.
Cultural Impact
Ernst Wilhelm Wolf's music fell into oblivion for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, with his name not even appearing in the 1968 edition of the MGG music encyclopedia's entry on Weimar.
Instruments
The sound of the tangent piano is described as having a rare beauty, resembling a harp or guitar, but can also achieve a percussive quality depending on the player's touch.
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