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BROADWOOD
in London
Henry Fowler Broadwood
To a great extent the chief director of a large manufacturing industry works anonymously, and the good results which his energies and intelligent judgment bring about are often forgotten and unrecognized. Nevertheless, tradition rarely lets the memory of a truly great man die, and although Henry Fowler Broadwood's place has, during the past fifteen years, been worthily filled by his sons, Henry and James (who represent the fifth generation of the Broadwood business, in direct succession), with the assistance of the Messrs. Rose, it will be long before the senior partner who has just died is forgotten. He entered the pianoforte factory of his father as a young man of 21. He had just left Cambridge, and life in the workshops was, of course, very different from the life he had been accustomed to at the University. Nevertheless, he enjoyed pianoforte making, and took the keenest interest in every detail of the work he could acquire. His activity and restlessness were remarkable. He would invariably run upstairs three steps at a time, and yet would stand before a piano for hours without uttering a word, intently thinking how he might improve it in certain particulars.
Just as Prince Bismarck was wont to examine the interior
of Krupp's heavy ordinance, so did Henry Fowler Broadwood scrutinize every
part of a grand piano with the greatest attention. He worked for some time
at the bench, and then took instruction in tuning, in which branch of the
pianoforte industry his father, James Broadwood, excelled, as his letters to
the Monthly Magazine in September, 1811, on pianoforte tuning make evident. In 1843 Henry Broadwood devoted his attention principally to scheming out improvements and alterations in the structure of his concert grands. When he came into the firm the mechanism of the piano was so heavy that many players could not use the instruments. Henry Broadwood thereupon took counsel, and submitted the results of his experiments to musicians of note, such as Sir Sterndale Bennett, Boehm (inventor of the improved key system in the flute), Molique, Puer, Sir Charles Hallé, Ferdinand Hiller, Stephen Heller, Ernst, Sainton, J. B. Cramer, Sir George Macfarren, and others. Edward Schultz, in particular, followed Henry Broadwood's investigations with much interest. Having improved the touch, Henry Broadwood turned his attention to strengthening the piano with iron, and in January, 1846, he had completed a square piano with full iron frame. In the same year (1846) he had also finished a grand piano with a frame entirely of iron, an idea which, of course, had already been anticipated in the United States. The ironwork was by the celebrated locksmith Bramah. This piano was the result of much thought and innumerable experiments. Madame Pleyel was the first to use it on a concert tour. James Broadwood had preferred the sweet but weak tone of the bi-chord piano. Henry Broadwood, on the other hand, in order to augment the tone, introduced into his pianos tri-chord stringing. Just as his grandfather, John Broadwood, had consulted Carvalho and Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, so did Henry Fowler Broadwood call in his friend, Dr. Pole, to consult with him in the drawing up of scales. These consultations resulted in a new theoretical system of marking out. [...][...]" Music: A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Art, Science, Technic and ..., Volume 4, 09/1883, p. 521
1886
John BROADWOOD
He came of an old family of Northumbrian yeomen, who in the sixteenth century owned land near Hexham, but in the eighteenth century moved into Scotland. Broadwood's grandfather was John Broadwood of Oldhamstock, East Lothian, who married (1679) one Katherine Boan. His youngest son, James, married Margaret Pewes, and their eldest son was the celebrated pianoforte maker. Broadwood is said to have walked from Scotland to London to seek his fortune as a cabinet-maker. He found employment and ultimately entered into partnership with Burkhardt Tschudi, a Swiss harpsichord maker, who came to England in 1718, and in 1732 had taken the house in Great Pulteney Street, which is still the place of business of his descendants. In 1769 Tschudi retired (reserving to himself certain royalties and the right of tuning harpsichords at the oratorios) in favour of Broadwood, who had married his daughter Barbara, though for some time longer the style of the firm remained Tschudi & Broadwood.
After the death of Tschudi (in
1773) his son
entered for a short time into partnership with Broadwood, but in
1783 the
business was in the sole hands of the latter, and remained so until 1795,
when Broadwood's eldest son, James Tschudi Broadwood, was taken into
partnership with his father. The latter died in 1812 and was buried in the
burial-ground of the methodist chapel in Tottenham-Court Road.
Broadwood's first patent, dated 17 July 1783,
is for a 'new constructed pianoforte, which is far superior to any
instrument of the kind heretofore constructed, but it is known that prior to
this he was engaged in assisting
Personally Broadwood was an amiable and
cultivated man, and his society was sought after by many of the most
influential personages of the day. He was a clear-headed man of business,
and very independent and energetic. There is a portrait of him painted at
the age of eighty by John Harrison, which was engraved by W. Say and
published on 1 Aug. 1812.
1893 The Late Mr. Henry Broadwood.
By his death there has disappeared from the musical world one of the most noted, conscientious, and scientific of pianoforte makers. Mr. Broadwood was born on the 6th June, 1811. The Broadwood pedigree goes back a long way; the first piano maker was John, who came from the north in 1769, and obtained employment in Burkardt Tschudi's harpsichord-making establishment in Great Pulteney Street. John Broadwood distinguished himself by his industry and skill, and married Barbara, Tschudi's daughter. His son, James, in due course became head of the firm of John Broadwood and Sons. James was a man of education and many accomplishments, and displayed quite a genius for his business. His son Henry, who has just died, was the eldest of seven children, and was educated at Harrow, Cambridge, and in Heidelberg; he entered the pianoforte factory of his father as a young man of twenty-one, working for some time at the bench, and mastering tuning. In 1836, Henry Broadwood became a partner in the firm bearing his name. He married in 1840. His policy in business was to continue to improve his instruments, to lend a helping hand to musicians of talent who required assistance, and to study the requirements of the virtuoso in every way. In 1843 Henry Broadwood devoted his attention principally to making alterations in the structure of his concert grands. Having improved the touch, he afterwards turned his attention to strengthening the piano with iron, and in January, 1846, he completed a square piano with the frame entirely of iron. In the same year he had also made a grand piano with a frame of iron, the first instrument of the kind ever constructed. In order to augment the tone he introduced trichord stringing. Mr. Henry Broadwood was a man of true kindness of heart. When, some 37 years ago, the factory was destroyed by fire, he paid the men for all the tools that were burned, and ordered that all pianos belonging to customers, however old, should be replaced by new ones. He took much interest in the welfare of his workpeople and as soon as the factory had been re-erected, replaced their library, which had been burned down. Mr. Broadwood was the first to introduce into England the pianette, and was one of the first to perceive the advantage of the crank action invented by Wornum. He had much to do in extending the compass of the grand piano in this country. He never cared to decorate his pianos in any way, always maintaining that he was a musical instrument maker and not an upholsterer. His policy was to have everything of the best quality procurable, and to avoid ostentation. His liberal-mindedness and artistic sentiment sometimes seemed to get the better of his commercial discretion; and on more than one occasion he would give every information he could to his trade competitors and even supply them with his instruments to copy, saying "Let them copy; when they do "what we are doing now, we shall be ahead with something " else." He was a warm supporter of the volunteer movement. His father had held a commission in the original Royal Westminster Volunteers, organised to ward off the threatened invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte; and when, in September, 1860, a strong feeling was expressed among the workpeople in favour of raising a volunteer corps, Henry Broadwood at once subscribed 100l. from his firm towards the fund. Since that date the Broadwood Volunteer Company has flourished uninterruptedly, and one of its most liberal supporters has always been Henry Broadwood. In regard to his private life, he was a keen sportsman, clever with his gun and rod. He shot over his estate at Lyne, near Horsham, until palsy paralysed his right hand, and as an old man he would wade up to his waist and land a big salmon which many a younger man would fail to master. A considerate landlord, he was much beloved by his tenants.
Although, in his later days, he seldom came
in personal contact with the great pianists of London, it was his practice
to have an account sent to him of the playing of every artist who used his
pianos at each of the public concerts. Amongst the distinguished makers of
pianos the name of Henry Broadwood will long be remembered. He leaves two
sons, partners in the famous old firm."
Musical News, Volume 5, 15/07/1893, p. 55
1895
Henry J. T. Broadwood.
The business to-day, known as "John Broadwood & Sons," was established in the reign of George II., in the year 1732, at the identical house now indicated as 33, Great Pulteney Street, by Burkhardt Tschudi, a Swiss, and younger son of a nobleman.
It being the custom to leave all property,
&c., to the eldest son, Burkhardt turned mechanic. He travelled to this
country and commenced business in Great Pulteney Street as a harps chord
maker. Being well connected, he was patronised by the Court, the Prince of
Wales showing him especial favour. In after years he married Tschudi's daughter, and on the death of his master became joint partner with Burkhardt Tschudi's son, and carried on business under the name of Tschudi & Broadwood. John Broadwood took an active part in bringing the pianoforte into general notice in this country. A Dutchman-Americus Backers-bequeathed to John Broadwood a new kind of mechanism for the pianos. This he improved upon, and it afterwards became known as the "direct or English action."
Mr. Broadwood next invented the loud and soft
pedals, patents for which are still to be seen at Pulteney Street; he also
improved the square piano, and his successful researches into acoustics, and
his application of their principles to the sounding-board and stringing,
resulted in the division of the bridge and other radical structural changes.
He considerably developed
it, perceived the advantage of iron in the construction of pianos, and
invented what is now known as the Iron Grand. He was also one of the first
to
increase the tone of pianos by the introduction of trichord instead of
bichord stringing.
1899 Broadwood and Sons
Tschudi eut comme associé, puis comme successeur, son gendre John Broadwood qui etait ébeniste de son metier. La « mecanique anglaise » du piano construite en premier lieu en 1770 par Americus Backers qui, à sa mort, en 1781, la recommanda à Broadwood, n'est autre qu'un perfectionnement de celle de Christofori-Silbermann (v. Piano). John Broadwood (né en 1732) mourut en 1812; il eut pour successeurs James Shudi et Thomas Broadwood, puis Henry-Fowler Broadwood, qui mourut le 10 juil. 1893. La fabrique a pris peu a peu une extension considerable, en sorte que plusieurs milliers d'instruments sortent chaque anuee des ateliers B." Riemann Humbert Dictionnaire de musique 1899, p. 105 (archive.org)
BROADWOOD
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