The Knauss Piano - A
Beautiful Instrument, A Scant History
Perspectives Of Piano History
If you're anything like us, then you appreciate the way that piano
history provides highly interesting perspectives into the lives of past
musicians and equally interesting influences on both the musicians of
the present and future. We're particularly encouraged by the history of
the Knauss piano and its contribution to the music that we've enjoyed
for generations.
At its most fundamental level, piano history
gives us an insight into why music developed the way that it did. But
we're now in the process of learning where this history will lead us and
teach us not only who to appreciate, but why. The problem is that it
isn't always easy to neatly place things or events within a timeline,
and sometimes, searching for the history of music can be as exciting as
learning it. Instruments Make History TOoOne of the things that
makes learning history difficult is a failure to keep accurate sales
records. Without adequate records, it's difficult to track the trail of
development. Another blockade is natural disasters, which literally
destroy the evidence we need to understand our role as musicians. In
these instances, we are left to seek the story behind our inventions
through alternative sources -- sources that have made a public impact
through other means.
Musical history is made not only through
song, it's also made with the instruments that are played. So then
studying the path of development through this route allows an instrument
to make its mark in history from the people that play it.
The
Knauss piano is one of those instruments and it was the preferred piano
of Carl Hardebeck, a London native born in 1869. The Knauss piano is a
German product that has a history originating from 1832. But what makes
this pianist stand out in history (and thus place the Knauss piano in
the archives) was his innate skill for music despite losing his sight as
a baby. He moved to Ireland and taught Irish music as a professor,
adjudicated competitions, and won awards for his own compositions. A
Knauss PianistAlthough Carl played other instruments, such as the
harmonium, his role as a Knauss pianist greatly contributed to some of
the beautiful Irish melodies and plainchants that we have today.
Someone somewhere makes history everyday with something -- and the
Knauss piano isn't exempt from the chronicles of our studies. To some
extent, the lack of significant material compels us to play a more
active role in learning more about our interests and to pose questions
that might not have ever been asked. New questions often lead to new
directions, which of course, lead to new discoveries.
The
history of the Knauss piano is prone to progress in a light of such
discovery and all efforts will not only help preserve the knowledge that
we've thus collected so far, it will additionally preserve our potential
to learn more about ourselves as a whole.
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