Eric Herz

Eric Herz (1919 – 2002) was born in Cologne, Germany and spent time playing flute with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra before relocating to the United States in the 1940s. Upon arriving in the US, Herz spent two years apprenticing under the builders Frank Hubbard and William Dowd before opening his own workshop in 1953, first in Harvard, Massachusetts and later in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Herz’s design approach was based on earlier examples rooted in the Northern European tradition, but was distinct in that his instruments incorporated fiberglass into the case and soundboard in order to produce a sturdier foundation. His instruments were known for their superior craftsmanship, and have often been compared to those built by the American manufacturer John Challis (1907 – 1974). Herz revival harpsichords have been featured on a number of recordings, with performers including the British-Swiss German harpsichordist Joseph Payne (1937 – 2008), American harpsichordist Imra Rogell (1918 – 2013), American pianist and harpsichordist Gerald Ranck (born 1941), and American organist Anthony Newman (born 1941). The French piano-manufacturing companies, Pleyel and Érard, were among the first to begin reproducing harpsichords on a larger scale in their piano factories in the 1880s, however it was not until the early twentieth century that their instruments came into notoriety with extensive usage of a Pleyel harpsichord by the Polish-French harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. Two harpsichords built by Pleyel and Érard were featured, along with a third constructed by the French builder Louis Tomasini, in the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. Although revival harpsichords are distinguished from their historical counterparts in that they incorporate elements of modern piano building, the basic sound production methods of the instrument find their roots in the foundations set by the European harpsichord builders of the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Flemish Ruckers family, the French builder Pascal Taskin, and the English Kirkman family. Throughout the twentieth century, a number of instrument builders have contributed to the development of the “modern” harpsichord, including the British builder and musician Arnold Dolmetsch, whose designs influenced manufacturers both in the UK and the USA.