Binks Gallery Tour – Ruckers the Stradivarius

The name of Ruckers is as important to early keyboard instruments as Stradivarius is to strings. The Ruckers family, who produced harpsichords and virginals throughout a period of over 100 years, are famous for the detailed art and their construction technique.

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Double-Manual Harpsichord

Maker: Ioannes Ruckers Date Made: 1638 Made In: Antwerp, Belgium Accession No: 4306

Ioannes Ruckers didn’t make a mistake when he failed to align the two keyboards on this harpsichord. At the time the two sets of keys were never expected to be played together. When fashion and music tastes changed, owners upgraded their instruments so they could play two keyboards at the same time. This is the only known example of a 17th-century double-keyboard harpsichord that has survived with its original, unaligned keyboards.

No Recording Available

Double-Manual Harpsichord

Maker: Andreas Ruckers the elder Date Made: 1608 Made In: Antwerp, Belgium Accession No: 4303

When Andreas Ruckers made this double-keyboard harpsichord in 1608 it was fit for a queen. A century after it had been owned by Queen Christina of Sweden the instrument was converted to a piano, a major operation that involved removing a keyboard and replacing the entire internal mechanism. The piano was restored to its original harpsichord form in 1928.

No Recording Available