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Why is a Zither in this Case?
This is Richard Kletting's musical instrument called a zither, a widely popular instrument in Austria in Kletting's day. After training in Europe in classical architecture, Kletting arrived in the United States in 1883 at age 25. He and his zither followed his lost luggage to Utah where Kletting was quickly hired as an architect. In his early years in Salt Lake City, either to supplement his income or for the love of music, he taught zither lessons.
Simple zithers were traditional folk instruments with fewer strings. Kletting's instrument is a more complicated concert zither with five melody strings covering 29 frets (played with the left hand) and 37 accompaniment strings (struck with the plectrum attached to the thumb or plucked with fingers on the right hand). n a photo of the same period, an officer in the Confederate Army plays a concert zither similar to Kletting's.
Kletting's zither, complete with his thumb plectrum and tuning key in its original box, was loaned to the Capitol Preservation Board by his granddaughter Chris Condie. |