Musical Instruments

The keyboard repertoire comprises one third of the whole of Western music. The very instruments chosen by composers themselves form the heart of The Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands. The eighteen owned or played by Purcell, Johann Christian Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, Mahler and Elgar, to name a few, are the largest group assembled anywhere of these tangible and audible relics connecting with the musical minds of the past. The collection otherwise comprises a further twenty or so instruments that were chosen to represent instrument-makers who were highly regarded or patronised by composers, all maintained in playing order. Here you can learn more and listen to each instrument. The music examples are played by David Owen Norris, Oliver Davies, Sam Haywood and Alec Cobbe.