playable Cristofori, was Nobuo Yamamoto

[Richard Moody]

>The tape says there are 3 Cristofori
> pianos extant, one of which, owned by the New York Metropolitan Museum, is
> playable. The restorer of the instrument was named, but I don't remember
it
> just now. The tape contains a recording of Paul Badura-Skoda playing a
> Domenico Scarlatti sonata on the Cristofori instrument. The instrument
> looked like it was about to fall over, but the sound was lovely. Highly
> recommended.
>
> Kent Swafford

This is from the article "Pianoforte" by A J Hipkins and K S. (Kathleen
Slasinger? sp?) in Britannica eleventh edition. c 1908---mentions two
Cristofori instruments, one in the Metropolitan Museum in NY and another in
the Kraus Museum, Florence.
The MM piano , "has undergone considerable restoration, the original hollow
hammer-head having been replaced by a modern one, and the hammer-butt,
instead of being centred by means of the  holes provided by Cristofori
himself for the purpose, having been lengthened by a leather hinge screwed
to the block....but the Krause Museum (one) retains the original leather
hammer-heads."
A drawing shows  "Cristofori's Escapement Action, 1720.  Restored in 1875 by
Cesare Ponsicchi."
    A footnote gives the information of the restoration as , "Communicated
by Baron Alexander Kraus (May 1908). "

I should note that a photocopy of the article was provided by Kenneth
Klauss, of the Klauss Archives and James Gallery in Parkston South Dakota.
---ric