Bösendorfer, c. 1845-1846, Vienna. Ignaz Bösendorfer began his career as apprentice to the piano builder Brodmann, later becoming shop foreman, and eventually taking over the firm around 1828, when Brodmann retired. The present instrument, typical of mid-nineteenth-century pianos, is parallel-strung, with a range of CC to a4. Liszt used similar pianos in Vienna in 1846. This piano and the c. 1846 Streicher piano, both by leading makers, and similar in appearance, are noticeably different in sound and touch. Among other differences, the Bösendorfer offers a more uniform tone throughout its range, while the Streicher has more distinctive registers. Visitors to the collection tend to be equally divided in their preference for one or the other, just as, one would imagine, were the people of Vienna in the 1840s. Pianos such as these were played in concert by Franz Liszt and Clara Schumann.

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