Tony Chinnery
Encyclopedia
Tony Chinnery is a builder of historical keyboard instruments, particularly of harpsichord
s and early fortepiano
s. He collaborates with his wife Kerstin Schwartz and keeps a workshop not far from Florence
in Italy. The instruments from their workshop, which generally are replicas of particular historical instruments, are widely used by performers and have appeared in many recordings. They have been played in concert by such performers as Gustav Leonhardt
, Kenneth Gilbert
, and Ton Koopman
.
A number of the instruments can be seen in museums:
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
s and early fortepiano
Fortepiano
Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music...
s. He collaborates with his wife Kerstin Schwartz and keeps a workshop not far from Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in Italy. The instruments from their workshop, which generally are replicas of particular historical instruments, are widely used by performers and have appeared in many recordings. They have been played in concert by such performers as Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
, Kenneth Gilbert
Kenneth Gilbert
Kenneth Gilbert, OC is a Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist and music educator.Gilbert was trained at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he was a pupil of Yvonne Hubert and Gabriel Cusson . He also studied the organ privately with Conrad Letendre in Montréal...
, and Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
.
A number of the instruments can be seen in museums:
- A replica of a 1697 harpsichord by Carlo Grimaldi is in the Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of ArtThe Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
(link) - A copy of the 1726 piano by Bartolomeo CristoforiBartolomeo CristoforiBartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco was an Italian maker of musical instruments, generally regarded as the inventor of the piano.-Life:...
was commissioned by the Museum of Musical InstrumentsMuseum of Musical Instruments of the University of LeipzigThe Museum of Musical Instruments of the University of Leipzig is a museum in Leipzig, Germany. It is located on Johannisplatz, near the city centre...
at the University of LeipzigUniversity of LeipzigThe University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. (link) - A copy of Cristofori's 1690 oval spinetOval spinetThe oval spinet is a type of harpsichord invented in the late 17th century by Bartolomeo Cristofori, the Italian instrument maker who later achieved fame for inventing the piano. The oval spinet was unusual for its shape, the arrangement of its strings, and for its mechanism for changing...
resides in the Galleria dell'Accademia in FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.