Henri Herz

Henri Herz (6 January 1803 {2 January 1806}, Vienna, Austria — 5 January 1888, Paris, France) was a distinguished French piano manufacturer, virtuoso pianist, composer, and pedagogue. He is best known for inventing the "Herz spring" (Repetierfeder), a simplified version of Sébastien Érard's double repetition, which led directly to the contemporary mechanism used in all grand pianos today. Herz taught at the Paris Conservatory between 1842 and 1874. Heinrich was born in a Jewish family and grew up in Vienna, taking early music lessons with his father. Herz later traveled to Koblenz in Germany to study under organist Daniel Hünten (1760—1823), Franz Hünten's father. In 1816, he first came to France and enrolled in the Conservatoire de Paris, where Herz studied composition with Anton Reicha; as an aspiring pianist, he was strongly influenced by Ignaz Moscheles. It's unknown when Herz became interested in instrument-making or where he apprenticed. Based on the design of his fortepianos, Henri's lineage traces back to renowned Gottfried Silbermann (1683—1753), who taught Johannes Zumpe (1726—1790) and Americus Backers (ca.1740 — post-1778), two notable makers from the so-called "Twelve Apostles" group who fled Germany in the mid-XVIII century during the Seven Years' War and significantly impacted the next generation of English and French makers, including Sébastien Érard (1752—1831) and Herz. In 1839, Henri launched an independent piano workshop with his older brother, Jacques Simon Herz (1794—1880), a pianist and Paris Conservatory graduate. (Before Herz spent over twelve years as a partner at "Henri Klepfer et Cie" piano factory, which he joined in 1825, but their business and personal relationship wasn't strong.) Henri was a prolific engineer and inventor, constantly advancing the fortepiano mechanism. Most notably, Herz switched from a single-layered hammer to a composite design, with two layers of leather, fabric, and rabbit fur inside and nine layers of wool of decreasing hardness on the outside. Despite slightly losing overall loudness, Herz hammers notably improved dynamics and tonal brightness. The business grew consistently, and within the next fifteen years, Herz was rated among the top three French piano makers, alongside Érard and Pleyel. (All three brands earned the highest "Médaille d`honneur" award at the 1855 Paris World's Fair). Between 1843 and 1866, Herz patented many more inventions related to piano construction and manufacturing. The brothers sponsored the construction of a new building on rue de la Victoire in 1838, which housed a 660-seat concert hall, Salle des Concerts Herz, and the "Ecole Spéciale de Piano de Paris" school they co-founded. (This was a common practice among European piano manufacturers, with other examples like Salle Pleyel or Bechstein Concert Hall in London.) The Salle des Herz became a popular music venue, which functioned until 1874 and featured notable premieres by Berlioz and Offenbach, among others. With all his entrepreneurial activities, Herz still found time for his stage career. Henri toured across Europe and worldwide, giving solo recitals in Russia, Mexico, and South America. Between 1846 and 1850, he traveled the USA with concerts from coast to coast. Henri Herz was a prolific composer, authoring eight piano concertos and over 200 smaller works: rondos, nocturnes, waltzes, fantasias, and variations. The piano company seemingly ceased to exist after Henri's retirement, as he didn't have male heirs or apprentices to pass over the business. Herz joined the Paris Conservatory faculty in 1842, serving as a professor for over thirty years. Some of his notable students include Maria Roger-Miclos. Henri patented a curious mechanical training device in 1835 called Dactylion; mounted on top of the piano's keyboard, it had ten adjustable weighted rings that students would put over their fingers to build strength. The bizarre contraption, perhaps more suitable for a torture chamber rather than a piano studio, was surprisingly popular, soon followed by a few other similar inventions, like Chirogymnast in 1840 and the Ochydactyl in 1922. In subsequent years, piano pedagogy fortunately departed from such "brute-force" tactics, focusing instead on correct finger placement and overall coordination.