Klavírna kultúra v Bratislave v rokoch 1770 – 1830 (I)

The paper presents a picture of piano culture in Bratislava in the second half of the 18thcentury and especially after 1770, the period which saw the hammer piano make a remarkable advance and even win dominance in European musical culture. The research is based on sources primarily of Bratislava provenance, which document piano culture among various social layers (aristrocratic, bourgeois, church and school milieux) and resulting from the work of influential figures who contributed to its development (composers, teachers, organisers, patrons, musical dilettantes, instrument-builders). Given the broad scope of the question, a selected approach is taken in this study, focusing especially on the circumstances and conditions in which piano culture evolved in Bratislava: opportunities for the cultivation of piano playing, reports on keyboard instruments in the press, concerts and events, manufacture of instruments. Particular attention is devoted to Johann Nepomuk Erdődy and his role in piano culture. The findings and presentation of sources are confronted with the picture of Viennese piano culture, which, mediated by the activities of a variety of social layers, contributed in a specific manner to the profile of piano culture in Bratislava.