This company’s large 290 model, the Imperial, featured 97 keys at Ferruccio Busoni’s request, and Victor Borge (“BOR-guh”) dubbed it the Rolls-Royce of pianos. For 10 points each:
[10m] Name this maker of costly hand-built pianos, one of the last to adopt cross-stringing and use Viennese action. Acquired by Yamaha, this Austrian brand sells ornate pianos named for Liszt, who endorsed its sturdiness.
ANSWER: Bösendorfer [or Boesendorfer]
[10e] Piano makers in this country like Burkat Shudi and John Broadwood replaced Viennese knee-operated levers with modern foot pedals. Muzio Clementi built pianos in this country where J. C. Bach and Abel held subscription concerts.
ANSWER: England [accept Great Britain, the United Kingdom, or the UK; accept Scotland]
[10h] Clementi’s 110 sonatas and Charles Avison’s concerti grossi were products of the “Scarlatti cult” in England promoted by Thomas Roseingrave. In the 1980s, this harpsichordist reached cult status by recording all 555 Scarlatti sonatas while dying of AIDS.
ANSWER: Scott Ross
<OL, Classical Music and Opera>