A Checklist of Keyboard Instruments in the St Petersburg Museum of Music

The St Petersburg Museum of Music (address: Sheremetev Palace, Naberezhnaya Fontanki 34, St Petersburg 191104, Russia) contains the holdings of the former Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. The museum has a web-site which does not (yet) contain a complete list of the instruments; researchers may therefore find this list helpful. It has been transcribed from the 1972 catalogue of the former Leningrad Institute collection. The comments in italics are not in the source.

The instruments have been given new numbers: as far as possible, both old and new numbers are given.

Clavichords

Old no. 1199, new no. X-368: Clavichord

Label reads: 'Johannes Viererigel [thus 1972 catalogue; actually Vierengel, see below] Pressburg 1744'. Rectangular case, on stand. 28 courses, two strings per course, brass and steel strings, tangent action. Fretted, keyboard compass C-c³, the sharps black, the naturals deep red. Length 112 cm.

Comment: this instrument actually has a short-and-broken bass octave, that is, the lowest two sharps are divided so as to produce notes D and E on the front part and F# and G# on the rear part. The maker is almost certainly Johannes Vierengel (1710-1756). Pressburg is modern Bratislava, the capital of the modern state of Slovakia. For more see Checklist of Clavichords with the C/E Short-and-Broken Bass Octave.

Old no. 1201, new no. X-370: Clavichord.

Label reads: 'Gottlieb Lehner... Pressburg...1816'. Rectangular case with legs. 45 courses of two strings each, steel and brass wires, over-spun strings in the bass. Fretted, compass FF-g³. Reverse keyboard [i.e. black naturals, white sharps]. Length 142.5 cm.

Harpsichords, Virginals and Spinets

Old no. 610 Spinet (Italy, 1532)

Inscription reads: 'Adi 7 novembrio 1532 fato in Brunetto A... gane in ...nese...'. A table instrument, five-sided case, approximately trapezoid. 50 strings and 50 keys. Compass C-f³ with short-octave bass. The sharps black, the naturals uncoloured. One of the oldest surviving spinets. Length 137 cm.

Old no. 1399: Bureau-spinet.

Combined spinet and mechanical instrument with pre-set tunes (not working). The bureau is in three sections, the bottom one being the musical instrument. Above this, a cabinet with a pair of doors on the front and back which open to reveal pull-out drawers; in the middle of the facade [?] a niche, made to look like a ballroom with parquet floor, mirrors and pillars, and five dancing figures (the present figures are reconstructions). Compass E-c³ [C/E-c³?].

Old no. 1568: Miniature spinet.

Inscribed 'Samuel Biderman Agusta 1627' (last figure unclear) and 'in medio uxores et pisces sunt meliores'. Has the appearance of a sewing-box. 32 strings, compass f-f³. [Agusta is modern Augsburg]

Old no. 950: Harpsichord

Reconstruction of an eighteenth-century instrument [?], 4 registers including 16-foot. [This is a revival harpsichord with three keyboards made by Hermann Seyffarth (1846-1933) of Leipzig.]

Old no. 2714: Spinet, Lindholm [former German Democratic Republic]

Pianos

Old no. 2213: Square piano, inscribed ‘Gabriel Buntebart et Sievers Londini feceruint 1784’

Old no. 1647: Square piano, inscribed ‘Gabriel Buntebart et Sievers Londini Fecerunt’ similar to no. 2213.

Old no. 1929: Square piano FF–f³.

Old no. 1379: Square piano, inscribed 'M.B.Regelsdorff St. Petersburg, 1801'.

Old no. 1205: Square piano, AA–f³.

Old no. 1203: Square piano, FF–f³.

Old no. 2254: Square piano, inscribed ‘... Longman ? Broderip ... London’, FF-f³.

Old no. 611: Square piano, inscribed ‘Christophe Krooze Londini fecit 1786’, FF-f³.

Old no. 878: Square piano, inscribed ‘New patent Geo Astor Co No 79 Cornhill London 1786’, FF-f⁴.

Unnumbered: Square piano, CC–c⁴.

Old no. 612: Square piano, inscribed ‘Freudenthaler à Paris... 1812’, 4 pedals.

Old no. 1930: Square piano, inscribed ‘Joham[?] Berg à Moscou’, FF–f⁴.

Old no. 1933: Square piano, inscribed ‘F. Diederichs W: O: 2 L. No 284. St. Petersburg’, FF–c⁴.