NORDISKA PIANO HISTORY FULL

There are three surviving Cristofori pianos: a 1720 which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, a 1722 from the Museo degli Strumenti Musicali in Rome (which was on display at the Smithsonian InstitutionРІР‚в„ўs 2000 РІР‚СљPiano 300РІР‚Сњ showcase exhibit of the history of the piano,) and a 1726 Cristofori which is in Leipzig, Germany. With a 1700 inventory listing CristoforiРІР‚в„ўs invention found among his employerРІР‚в„ўs belongings, the 1700 date is known to be close to the date of this invention and it may have come about in 1698-99. In approximately the year 1700, he produced his great invention, the РІР‚Сљgravicembalo col piano e forte.РІР‚Сњ Though evidence points to earlier attempts, CristoforiРІР‚в„ўs was the first successful keyboard instrument which used hammers to hit the strings. He was a harpsichord maker and keeper of musical instruments at the Medici court. The answer came from Bartolomeo Cristofori. The time was right for the next step РІР‚вЂњ a keyboard that could satisfy composers, who were clamoring for an instrument with a broad dynamic range. It did not develop commercially, yet provided an important link to the invention of the piano.

This РІР‚СљPantaleonРІР‚Сњ (so dubbed by Louis XIV) was a great success for Hebenstreit, but required his unique skills to play. He made hammers for striking the strings which had two sides with different covering materials РІР‚вЂњ one side for soft and one for loud. His dulcimer was four times the normal size РІР‚вЂњ nine feet long, with an extra soundboard. In 1690, a prolific German dulcimer player and showman named Pantaleon Hebenstreit designed a special dulcimer for himself. The dulcimer is a stringed instrument, struck with small padded hammers held in the playerРІР‚в„ўs hands. A third instrument was also a forerunner to the piano, yet had no keyboard РІР‚вЂњ that is the dulcimer. Yet the harpsichord could be played at a higher volume than the clavichord, which made it especially popular in churches, where it could be played along with the organ and still be heard. Volume could be altered mechanically by adjusting the length of the plectrum and its flexibility, either individually on each jack or by re-positioning the complete register (or one row), moving the jack slide laterally. A felt damper rises off the string, allowing the string to vibrate freely when it is plucked. A jack rises as the key is played, carrying the quill toward the string. Harpsichord strings are plucked by a quill or plectrum. The harpsichord, which dates to 1505, was popular during the same period and had its own followers. Still, clavichords were extremely popular in domestic use and remained so for 300-400 years. Dynamic expression is also possible on the clavichord, but the range is limited to the mezzo-piano level. Uniquely, a rapid varying of pressure on the key causes a vibrato effect. At the same time, the tangent sets the string in motion at its correct speaking length. As a key is depressed, the tangent strikes the strings and remains in contact with them, acting as a fret. Each had its own strengths, which made it popular for specific venues and music styles, andР’В it was these which eventually led to the piano.Р”В¬lavichords are constructed with bichord strings that are struck by tangents РІР‚вЂњ usually brass РІР‚вЂњ stuck into the end of each key. These were the clavichord and the harpsichord. He called this touch-sensitive invention РІР‚Сљgravicembalo col piano e forte,РІР‚Сњ or РІР‚Сљharpsichord with soft and loud.РІР‚Сњ But for centuries before Bartolomeo Cristofori came along, there were two keyboards widely in use during a parallel era that began in the 1400s.

NORDISKA PIANO HISTORY FULL

The history of the piano goes back three full centuries when an Italian harpsichord builder named Bartolomeo Cristofori produced a breakthrough technological advance РІР‚вЂњ a new mechanism for the harpsichord which gave it the ability to be played with dynamic variations.

A complex wooden machine with myriad felt coverings and metal springs is coupled with a structure that sustains an average of 20 tons of string tension. With each development since its invention, the piano has increasingly been ableР’В to provide infinite nuance of expression, volume and duration of tone. It is the most complex mechanical device in any home and is capable of fulfilling the playerРІР‚в„ўs every musical wish. The history of the piano traces back more than 3 centuries, and chronicles how the piano, most popular instrument in existence, continues to be the premiere instrument as we enter its fourth century. Image Source: A Brief History Of The Piano РІР‚вЂњ Sono Music The History Of The Pian o

Nordiska piano history