Benjamin Franklin鈥檚 Glass Armonica in Concert
By Michele Lavoie, Director of Archives
The year 2026 marks both the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and the 320th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, founder of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia and a member of the Academy鈥檚 first elected class of members in 1781.
In January 1956, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Franklin鈥檚 birth, the Academy organized a three-part lecture series exploring different aspects of his life and achievements, culminating in a birthday dinner. One of the after-dinner speeches focused on 鈥淔ranklin and Music,鈥 which led to another celebratory event a few months later.
This fourth event, held in conjunction with the Academy鈥檚 Stated Meeting on April 11, 1956, was a concert honoring both the 250th anniversary of Franklin鈥檚 birth and the 200th anniversary of Mozart鈥檚 birth. Organist and Academy member E. Power Biggs (elected 1950) led the program. Several musicians affiliated with the Boston Symphony Orchestra joined him, including Academy members violinist Richard Burgin (elected 1947) and tenor Roland Hayes (elected 1953). Biggs鈥檚 remarks were later published in 顿忙诲补濒耻蝉.1 The concert was held in the Kresge Auditorium at MIT and featured a unique performance of Mozart鈥檚 adagio for the glass armonica, along with other musical works by Mozart and Franklin.
For the occasion, the Academy commissioned a recreation of Franklin鈥檚 own design for the glass armonica, as detailed in his Letter to Beccaria (Milan, 1776). Corning Glass Works constructed the instrument in collaboration with renowned organ builder Herman Schlicker. However, design flaws made the instrument unsuitable for performance鈥攖he glass bowls cracked from the hammer pressure specified in Biggs鈥檚 original design鈥搒o a much simplified version had to be constructed for the concert. The instrument still exists today and is part of the Academy鈥檚 archival collections.