Pianos: A Historical Peek-a-Boo!

Pianos are one of those musical instruments that can be rightly termed as "classy". With a great historical background to its name, pianos form the soul of western music, preferably for solo performances, chamber music, and accompaniment. Not withstanding their huge size and expense, pianos lend an amazing aid for rehearsals and music compositions. The universal popularity of pianos makes us wonder about some of the unique facts that have not yet been brought to limelight.

The word 'piano' is an Italian derivation of gravicиmbalo col piano e forte (literally harpsichord with soft and loud tone); later abbreviated from 'pianoforte'. Historical records credit the invention of the piano to a single individual named Bartolomeo Cristofori of Padua, Italy. Infact, the famous Medici family owned a piano in the year 1700. There are now three Cristofori pianos from the 1720"s that have survived the onslaught of time.

The piano was invented in line with other technological inventions. The keyboard instrument mechanisms, including the clavichord and the harpsichord, were quite well known. Cristofori was himself an expert harpsichord maker and he invested his expertise in inventing the piano with great success.

The design of the piano posed some problems to the maker. For instance, the hammers were not to remain in contact with the string to avoid dampening of the sound. Besides, the hammers were to return to their rest position without any violent bounce, thereby making rapid note repetition possible. Cristofori showed the way to future piano makers through his piano action. However, there is a subtle difference between his designed pianos and the modern ones. While his early made pianos carried thin strings and quieter note in comparison to modern pianos, they were actually much louder and had greater sustaining power.

However, Cristofori's piano did not attain instant recognition until an Italian writer, Scipione Maffei, wrote an interesting article about it. This article inspired several builders who took up piano building as their profession. One such organ builder, Gottfried Silbermann, made few modifications to Cristofori's model, consequently leading the way for the invention of the modern damper pedal, which lifts all the dampers from the strings at one go.

The 18th century saw further development in the field of piano-making business, with Johann Andreas Stein, Nannette Stein, and Anton Walter carrying the tradition forward. The Viennese style pianos were built with wooden frames and leather-covered hammers. Purchasing a piano was an expensive affair and beyond the reach of most of the families. As such, they came to be associated with the gentry and the aristocracy. The number of