Poco moto

German inventor (1772–1838)

Johann Nepomuk Maelzel (or Mälzel; August 15, 1772 – July 21, 1838) was a German inventor, engineer, and showman, best known for manufacturing a metronome and several music-playing automatons, and displaying a fraudulent chess machine.

He worked with Beethoven to compose a piece of music for one of his inventions.

Life and work

Maelzel was born in Regensburg.

Maelzel metronome markings

The son of an organ builder, he received a comprehensive musical education.^[1] He moved to Vienna in 1792. After several years of study and experiment, he produced an orchestrion instrument, which was publicly exhibited, and afterward sold for 3,000 florins.

In 1804, he invented the panharmonicon, an automaton able to play the musical instruments of a military band, powered by bellows and directed by revolving cylinders storing the notes.^[1] This attracted universal attention; the inventor became noted throughout Europe, was appointed imperial c