Vis-à-vis

Vis-à-vis (Fr.: facing), combination piano and harpsichord, designed by Johann Andreas Stein of Augsburg by 1777 for 2 players seated opposite each other. A surviving instr. dated 1777, preserved in Verona, consists of a very long rectangular case with 3 manuals at 1 end (the 2 upper manuals are for a harpsichord with 4 sets of strings), and a 1-manual piano at the other end. The piano can be played either from its own manual or from the lowest of the 3 at the opposite end, and is furnished…