Michael Mietke (c. 1656/1671 – 1719) was a German

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

maker.

Biography

He lived his entire life in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and is known to have been an instrument maker there from 1695. He succeeded Christoph Werner in 1707 as official maker to the court. He delivered a harpsichord to the court at Köthen in 1719 on the recommendation of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, which was probably the instrument for which Bach composed

Brandenburg concerto The ''Brandenburg Concertos'' by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1046–1051), are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, MacDonogh, Giles. ''Frederick the Great: A Life in Dee ...

no.5 as a show-piece.

Surviving instruments

Three of his harpsichords survive: A plain single-manual instrument, preserved

Hudiksvall Hudiksvall () is a city and the seat of Hudiksvall Municipality, in Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 15,015 inhabitants in 2010. Hudiksvall is also known as Glada Hudik ( en, Happy Hudik), a term that originated in the 19th century as ...

, Sweden, is signed 'Berlin, 1710'. In

Schloss Charlottenburg Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during t ...

in Berlin there are two instruments, both probably made for the court. Both are unsigned, although they have been linked to Mietke beyond reasonable doubt. One is a single-manual, which belonged personally to Queen Sophie Charlotte, and the other a double-manual. Both are lavishly decorated by the court decorator Gerard Dagly: the single manual instrument, covered with gilded

chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French ''wikt:chinoiserie#French, chinoiserie'', from ''wikt:chinois#French, chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of China, Chinese and other East Asia, East Asian artistic traditions, especial ...

on a porcelain white background, earning the instrument the affectionate modern nickname "The White Mietke", while the double manual instrument is in similar style, but on a black background and thus often referred to as "The Black Mietke".

Progeny

The sons and grandson of Michael Mietke followed in his footsteps: * Michael Mietke II (5 March 1702 – April/August 1754) was his son; he became harpsichord maker to the

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

court in 1728. * Georg Mietke (31 January 1704 – 1770), also his son, left Berlin in 1729, moving to Danzig, and then in 1739 to Königsberg, where he had a licence to build 'Claviere, und musikalische Instrumenten' in 1747. * Friedrich Mietke (1746 – c. 1805) Michael Mietke's grandson and the son of Georg Mietke, and was taught by him until 1765. He became maker to the court in 1770.Krickerberg, www.grovemusic.com

References

Sources

*Dieter Krickerberg: 'Mietke', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-05-18), http://www.grovemusic.com/ *Kottick EL, A History of the Harpsichord, 2003, Indiana University Press

Biography

Surviving instruments

Progeny

References

Sources

See also