Beethoven Broadwood Bicentenary

This year, the firm of John Broadwood & Sons is promoting a celebration of a remarkable gift - a grand piano sent to Beethoven exactly two hundred years ago.

Thomas Broadwood (1786-1861), the third son of John Broadwood was visiting Austria in 1817 and had contacted the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven whilst in Vienna. He was invited to the composer's apartment, but noted that Beethoven did not have his own piano at the time; rather, he was borrowing or hiring instruments from sympathetic local piano makers. Additionally, Beethoven's deafness meant that he was seeking a louder piano: at the time, the grand pianos being built by Broadwood's in London were capable of more volume and power than contemporary Viennese instruments.

On returning to London, Thomas decided that he would send Beethoven one of Broadwood's pianos as a surprise gift. He enlisted the help of several eminent pianists to select the most suitable instrument - No.7632 was the one eventually chosen - and the piano was dispatched from London Docks on 27th December 1817, to be taken all the way to Trieste in the Adriatic by sea. The piano was kept in a warehouse until April 1818, when the Alpine passes were clear of snow, and then taken the 360 miles to Vienna by horse and cart. Despite being placed in a protective packing case for the duration of its journey, the piano had nevertheless suffered some damage as a result of its lengthy peregrination, and Beethoven recruited the assistance of his friend Nanette Streicher, a Viennese piano builder, to carry out essential repairs.

The route taken by the Broadwood piano on its way to Vienna

The piano was taken to Beethoven's apartment in Mödling, near Vienna, in late April or early May 1818. He was delighted with the gift, but moreover the increased sonority and sustain of the English-made instrument inspired him to employ these qualities in three of his late piano sonatas, Op.106 in B flat, Op.109 in E (the "Hammerklavier"), and Op.110 in A flat (most evident in the composition of the bass part).

After Beethoven's death in 1827, the piano was sold to a Viennese music publisher, C Anton Spina, who kept it until 1845 and then gave it to the composer Franz Liszt. Liszt kept the piano in his house in Weimar until 1874, when he donated it to the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, where it remains to the present day. The piano was restored to a playable condition in 1991 and is on regular public display at the museum.

Scheduled events (in the UK)

Beethoven recital at the Clarke Clavier Collection, Oxborough, Norfolk at 3.00pm on 28th and 29th April 2018. Mariko Koide will be performing. Tel 01366 328217 for booking (essential).

Lunchtime recitals on early Broadwood grands by students Yehuda Inbat and Amiran Zenaishvili at the Royal Academy of Music Keyboards Museum, London NW1 5HT on 2nd and 9th May 2018 at 2.30pm. Details at www.ram.ac.uk

"A most remarkable gift": Talk and demonstration by Dr Alastair Laurence, chairman of John Broadwood & Sons, also at the Royal Academy of Music Keyboards Museum on 8th May 2018 at 7.00pm. Details at www.ram.ac.uk

"The Vaulted Concert Room": International concert pianist Paul Roberts performs Beethoven and Debussy on a 1921 Broadwood steel barless grand at Finchcocks, Goudhurst, Kent TN2 5LE on 27th May 2018 at 7.30pm. Advance booking essential, see www.finchcocks.com

First concerts in the new recital room at the Richard Burnett Heritage Collection, Waterdown House, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5LE. On 10th June 2018 at 2.30pm and 6.00pm, young virtuoso Julian Trevelyan plays Beethoven on early Broadwood grand pianos, with commentaries from Dr Alastair Laurence. Advance booking essential, tel 01892 523203.

Events elsewhere in Europe

Beethoven's Broadwood Grand Piano is on display at the Hungarian National Museum, Muzeum krt.14-16, Budapest, Hungary. Open 10.00am-6.00pm every day of the week except Monday. See www.mnm.hulen

Commemorative Concerts at the Thönet Schlössl Museum, Josef Deutsch-Platz 2, A-2340, Mödling, near Vienna, Austria. These will take place throughout April and May, performed by local schoolchildren and professional musicians. A guided tour of Beethoven's apartment at Mödling (where the Broadwood piano was delivered) follows after each concert. See www.museum-moedling.at

Exhibition of Ephemera surrounding the Broadwood gift, in association with the display of an 1817 Broadwood grand at the Beethoven Birthplace Museum, Beethoven-Hause, Bonngasfe, 24-26, 53111 Bonn. See www.beethoven.de