History of the Pianoforte
The creation of the pianoforte, also known as the piano, has had positive impacts in both the music world and life of musicians all across the globe. Once the piano was made, it marked the start of something new. This sparked new innovation in musicians to create various elegant music compositions. Renowned pianists such as, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lang Lang, and many others have created names for themselves simply by mastering the piano and many other instruments. But the piano was not created overnight, it took numerous years of hard craftsmanship to develop the modern piano that it is today.
The creation of the first piano was in the early 1700’s, the piano was an influential instrument that had been played all over the world (Amoroso 56). However, before the piano, many musical pieces were played on both the clavichord and harpsichord (60). The clavichord was used to compose calm quiet pieces, whereas the harpsichord was used for much louder ones. These instruments both had been abandoned once the piano was created. This changed the world of music as it spreaded around the globe. The piano started off small and simple with only four and a half octaves; it later evolved and became the grand piano. It held a wide variety of tones ranging from “as low as the oboe or as high as the piccolo” (Powers). Overtime, people have helped with the evolution of the pianoforte to the piano, however, its origin falls back to a single man who built the very first pianoforte. Throughout the process of the pianoforte’s construction, it contained many problems that had to be resolved. The instrument now called the piano was first built by Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori. Cristofori was born on May 04, 1655 in Padua Italy and died on January 27, 1731 in Florence, Italy which is the location where the story begins. He worked under Prince Ferdinando de Medici, son of the grand duke of Tuscany, who had great interest in music. The Medici families were important patrons of the arts and helped create a style alongside the artists themselves (Rejino). Prince Ferdinando hired Cristofori to create harpsichords for the Prince and for Cristofori to curate the Prince’s large collection of musical instruments. Cristofori was appointed to head-master of Ferdinando’s workshop which established independence within the hierarchy (Powers). With the independence obtained from becoming head-master, Cristofori constructed the pianoforte. The pianoforte evolved from harpsichords. Harpsichords would normally have their strings plucked, but Cristofori substituted this function with the blows from a series of hammers which became known as the hammer action and would be an essential characteristic of future pianofortes (Marc 89). The piano was finally constructed and ready for testing.
When the pianoforte came into appearance, it did not come out as a polished product. Afterall, the invention was still in its early stages and required testing to find faults in the pianoforte. In 1709, Cristofori brought forth his first finished pianoforte. But, before he was able to mass produce the product of the pianoforte, there were still problems at hand of which Cristofori will still need to resolve. One major problem appeared after the introduction of the hammer action, where there was the possibility of the hammer staying in contact with the string after striking it. If the hammer remains in contact with the string, the vibrations of the string will be blocked and result in the absence of a tone being produced (Cynthia 46). Another problem with the hammer action was the possibility of once the hammer returns to its resting position; it will rebound back and strike the string again (48). The hammer action may have been one of Cristofori’s more well-known creations. but it contained these two problems that Cristofori would eventually resolve.
With the introduction of the hammer action, two problems appeared which would be resolved by the invention known as the “escapement” mechanism. The ingenious innovation by Cristofori allowed the hammer to fall away from the string after striking it which would resolve the issue of the string having its vibrations stopped. By allowing the hammer to fall past the string, it would not dampen the string would allow it to be struck harder than on a clavichord (Powers). With the “escapement” mechanism, it also includes a “check” or a pad at the end of the hammer’s path would help resolve the issue of the possibility of striking the key again after rebounding. As the hammer falls, the head is caught by a pad to stop the hammer’s momentum stops any tendency to rebound back until the finger releases the key and the hammer returns back to its initial position, ready to strike again (Latham). Multiple problems appeared alongside the piano, however, both problems were resolved by the “escapement” mechanism. Powers said, “Cristofori was an artful inventor, creating such a sophisticated action for his pianos that, at the instrument's inception, he solved the technical problems that continued to puzzle other piano designers for the next seventy-five years of its evolution.”
Although, Cristofori resolved some of the problems; the pianoforte underwent further improvements with technological innovations to come. Further improvements included the introduction of pedals created by Cristofori. The addition of pedals became a normal installment for future pianos as it gave the strings more variety of tones. It became normal to have three strings per note and depending on the position of the pedal, the placement of the hammer would change, either being closer to the strings to produce a quieter tone or being shifted sideways to strike only one string (Hoover 55). Other improvements include the introduction of the iron frame. Hawkins introduced the iron frame which would give pianos the advantage of using string at a higher tension than what the wooden frame would allow, thus allowing a fuller tone to be produced (Rejino). The iron frame permitted the use of high tension strings which the wooden frame could not handle as “the tension of a single string today may be 180-200 lbs” (Rejino). Despite, Cristofori’s grand achievements, the piano did not gain instantaneous fame; it took time to reach the pinnacle of its popularity.
The pianoforte became, by the last quarter of the eighteenth century, a leading instrument of Western art music, for both professional and amateurs. The classical music era which followed after the eighteenth century brought enormous popularity to the piano. It was incorporated into orchestras, which very quickly became a popular source of entertainment, and concert halls were built bigger with more seats. During this time, people spent their leisure time at parlors or attending theaters. Musicians, especially pianists impacted classical music, beginning with Beethoven, composers began to arrange large concerts in order to introduce their works to the public. As audiences desired more, composers wrote larger musical works and demanded more of performers and their instruments (Rushington 99). Parlors helped the piano gain popularity as well. Dobney said, “With the rise of the parlor as the center of family life, music education became increasingly important. Children were often taught to play musical instruments as part of a well-rounded education.” “The piano came to be viewed as a symbol of culture and sophistication where middle class households clamored for one in their front parlors” (Amoroso 25).
A big factor which helped made pianos affordable for households during this period was the Industrial Revolution. Hoover said, “To accommodate home use, smaller pianos were created… Small pianos took up less space and, although they were not as powerful as larger types, they were also less expensive.” The benefit of the Industrial Revolution was that more resources became available which made the parts to construct the piano less expensive. In addition, many factories were around which made the process of mass producing the piano much easier. Hoover said, “With the Industrial Revolution came the birth of piano factories, which eliminated handmade pianos and adopted a more standard design for the instrument.” With pianos undergoing mass production, it made them more accessible and affordable for every household.
As the piano became more integrated in daily life it’s music brought people together and continues till this day. For starters, the piano became a way to transcend one’s social class, as pianists gained popularity equal to superstars and could become famous through the piano. Hoover said, “The pianist Franz Liszt… dazzled audiences throughout Europe with their performances, elevating the status of the musician from servant to demi-god.” Not only was the piano capable of becoming a gateway to popularity, the piano became a focus in one’s education system. “For girls, playing an instrument was more important than learning to read” (Hoover 110). When children took musical education, the piano became a popular instrument to help with the teachings, “The instrument is also frequently used to teach music theory and music classes to young children” (Amoroso 10). With the piano’s long history, it gave rise to many movements as well or helped influence these movements. Hoover said, “African Americans in the 1900s came up with their own styles of playing the piano, first ragtime and then jazz, which also induced new dances. Famous artists such as Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington and Mary Lou Williams emerged to shape the new music movement.” Another popular artistic movement was Romanticism, “In music, Romanticism, along with new opportunities for earning a livelihood as a musician or composer, produced two seemingly opposite venues as the primary places for musical activity—the large theater and the parlor” (Isacoff). The Romanticism movement influenced musical artists immensely as it popularized the common places for entertainment. “It's been over 30 years since the first electronic musical instruments made it to market, yet to this day the single most important feature on any synthesizer remains the quality of the "piano sound." (Rushington 38).
Through three hundred years of history, the piano still continues to grow and proven it can transcend physical boundaries. The innovation of current technology with the piano gave new life to this popular instrument. The cultural aspect of the piano’s influence in these areas have given light to incidences that people never knew about. With the knowledge of the piano’s history and its influence in cultural aspects, the feelings towards the piano will intensify and people will be able to feel a deeper connection/love for the piano.