attributed to JOHANN GEORG GRÖBER (1775- 1849) in Innsbruck, c. 1810/15, Viennese action (‘Prellzungenmechanik’), 6 octaves, walnut or pine body on conical square legs, longitudinal stringing, leg keyboard with later white and black coating as part of a restoration carried out in 1974, c. 90 x 224 x 118 cm, heavy signs of age and use, key covers are loose. (DOC)

An almost identical fortepiano made by J. G. GRÖBER is preserved in the instrument collection at the Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck. JOHANN GEORG GRÖBER (17751849) is regarded as the most important Tyrolean piano maker of the first half of the 19th century. In 1805 he completed a three-year apprenticeship with Ignaz Kober (17561813) in Vienna, where he was trained in the manufacture of keyboard instruments, fortepianos and organs. In 1806 he was granted a license to build them. Gröber appears in the registers as an "organ maker" until 1811, then as a "fortepiano maker". In 1835 he acquired a license from Joh. David Buschmann to reproduce his terpodion (a friction instrument with a keyboard). Gröber quickly established himself as a capable piano maker and closely followed the modern Viennese models. Today, his instruments are preserved in several important collections around the world.

Lit.:
- M. E. Nußbaumer Eibensteiner, Johann Georg Gröber, Johann Georg Gröber, Tiroler Klavier- und Orgelbauer, 1775-1849, master’s thesis, Innsbruck 1992
- Alfred Reichling, Tiroler Orgelbauer der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jh. In: Veröfentlichungen des Tiroler Landesmuseums Ferdinandeum 78,1998, pp. 239–241