America’s First Piano?

America's first commercially made piano forte by John Behrent. Courtesy of Sigal Music Museum

In Colonial America, most keyboard instruments were harpsichords, an instrument in which the strings were plucked to produce sound. However,  a new instrument began replacing it in popularity towards the end of the 18th century. In 1775, an advertisement for the piano appeared in the Pennsylvania Packet, as well as in a German language newspaper. These were quite possibly the earliest reference to a commercially manufactured piano in America.

“John Behrent, Joiner and Instrument Maker, living in Third-street continued, in Campington, directly opposite Coates’s Burying-ground, Has just finished for sale, an extraordinary fine instrument, by the name of Piano Forte, of Mahogany, in the manner of an harpsichord, with hammers, and several changes: He intends to dispose of it on very reasonable terms; and being a master in such sort of work, and a new beginner in this country, he requests all lovers of music to favour him with their custom, and they shall not only be honestly served, but their favours gratefully acknowledged, by their humble servant, John Behrent.”

America’s First Piano Maker?

A 1775 ad in the Pensylvania Packet for a piano forte by 'John Berent." Courtesy of Sigal Music Museum

Johann Michael Behrent first came to America around 1772. His ancestry is unclear—likely Dutch or Saxon. He studied instrument making in London under the tutelage of Americus Backers. Having learned from his mentor Gottfried Silbermann, Backers first brought the keyboard hammer striking action to England. He was famous for creating the prototype of the modern grand piano—a faithful reproduction of Bartolomeo Cristofori’s original invention.

Before Backers gained notoriety in England, Behrent moved to Lisbon, Portugal. There, he continued Backer’s instrument-making techniques and likely worked as a joiner (carpenter) as well. Joinery was the prerequisite trade for instrument makers, and a fallback occupation when there wasn’t enough work building instruments.

Behrent immigrated to America in the turbulent years preceding the Revolution. At that time, Philadelphia was the center for instrument making. The city’s German and Moravian immigrants treasured music as a part of their worship and established a tradition of fine instrument making. Behrent established himself there. His hard work was rewarded and he was able to marry and enlarge his house to build his workshop.

There are not many Behrent instruments known to have been made. The 1775 instrument in the newspaper advertisement is the only one recorded. Behrent probably worked for other instrument makers and as a joiner for much of his early years in America. His success was likely due to his industry as a carpenter, not so much for piano making.

In 1775, the seeds of Revolution were sown. After Lexington and Concord, Behrent set music aside and enlisted as a private in the Continental Army. In 1780, he contracted yellow fever and passed away. After the war, other instrument makers, like German immigrant Charles Albrecht and his brother George, produced many fine pianos.

A Rare and Amazing Discovery

The Berent piano forte at the Sigal Music Museum in Greenville, South Carolina. Courtesy of the Sigal Music Museum

As the bicentennial of the American Revolution approached, the 1775 advertisement continued to intrigue history students. There was little chance that a Behrent piano had survived, especially if only one had been made. In 1976, efforts to track the lost piano dwindled. It appeared that the trail ended with the Pennsylvania Packet advertisement.

In 2020, Tom Strange, the curator of the Sigal Music Museum in Greenville, South Carolina, acquired a significant private collection for the museum. Nicholas Giordano, emeritus professor of physics at Purdue University and a piano enthusiast, owned over 19 pianos but couldn’t take them all to his new residence in Oregon. While downsizing his collection, he reached out to Strange to find them a good home.

One piano from Giordano’s collection particularly interested Strange. The old piano bore the inscription “John Berent, London.” The spelling was different than Strange had encountered while reading about Johann Behrent. But it was in keeping with the man’s habit of anglicizing and changing his own name’s spelling. Strange took eight of Giordano’s pianos, including the Berent piano.

As he studied the instrument, Strange came to a number of realizations that pointed to the piano being the work of Behrent. First were the woods used: the American tulip poplar and southern yellow pine. These woods were never exported to England because they weren’t valuable enough. The tulip poplar only grows in the eastern United States.

The instrument was veneered with mahogany, as were many fine pianos, but it was constructed with side battens that English makers ceased to use around 1720.  Another clue was that the keyboard action shifted to the left. English actions typically shifted to the right. The Portuguese alone used a left-shifting action. Behrent had emigrated to America from Lisbon, so the different action made sense.

So why the inscription “London?” Strange speculates that an immigrant wanting to establish his reputation as a piano builder would have wanted to reference the place of his beginnings. The piano was not made in London; its maker was. Strange and Giordano’s sleuthing brought this rare instrument to light, 246 years after it was created.

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