History of the Piano, Pianoforte - fortepiano, upright, grand, hammer, harpsichord, dulcimer, clavichord, Cristofori, Silbermann, Viennese action, double escapement, keyboard

The Piano (Pianoforte)

The History of the Piano

The name ‘pianoforte’ came about because of its capacity to play dynamics – both quietly (piano) and loudly (forte).

‘Piano’ and ‘forte’ are two terms used by musicians relating to dynamic level; if a musician sees p (short for ‘piano’) at a particular place in his music then it instructs him or her to play quietly at that point. When the piano was first invented – in 1709 – other keyboard instruments of the time, such as the harpsichord, were not capable of this kind of dynamic control, and as such played at only one volume.

These changes in dynamics were possible because of the new ‘hammer’ mechanism it adopted.

Pianos are generally considered to be a descendant of both the dulcimer (for its hammer and string method of sound production), and of the harpsichord & clavichord (for their keyboard design). Harpsichords, unlike pianos, use a ‘plucking’ mechanism in which a ‘plectra’ plucks the string causing it to vibrate. This is why the dynamic level remains constant. Alternatively, a dulcimer, which is like a box with wires stretched over it, produces sound (and string vibration) when the player strikes the wires with wooden hammers – one in each hand. So, the hammer and string mechanism of a piano produces the sound in a similar way to a dulcimer, though instead of the player manually hitting the strings with the hammer – causing them to vibrate – a key from the keyboard is struck (like a harpsichord or clavichord), and this triggers the hammer mechanism. The force with which the key is struck determines the volume level of the sound produced, i.e. a more forcefully struck key creates a bigger string vibration, and a louder sound.

The earliest piano instrument was invented in 1709 (late Baroque) by the harpsichord-maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731).

Cristofori was situated in Florence, Italy. It was he who made the first transition from the ‘plucking’ mechanism of the harpsichord to the ‘hammer’ mechanism; and he named the instrument ‘gravicembalo col piano e forte’ which is Italian for “harpsichord with softness and loudness”. Cristofori’s pianos had a range of 4 to 4 ½ octaves. Each hammer would be covered with a thin leather jacket. Only three of Cristofori’s pianofortes are known to exist: one in New York, one in Leipzig, and one in Rome.

In 1726, German organ maker Gottfried Silbermann (1683-1753) introduced two of his own pianos – based on Cristofori’s design – to J. S. Bach (1685-1750).

For a start, Bach did not seem all that impressed, and, subsequently, many changes were made before he would play a later Silbermann model in 1747 at the court of Friedrich II (Frederick the Great), King of Prussia, at Potsdam.

These early pianos looked more like harpsichords rather than the recognizable shape of today’s modern pianos. They also used a wooden frame construction as opposed to an iron frame of later pianos.

The first piano to take the shape of a clavichord (also known as a ‘square piano’) is attributed to the organ-maker Frederic of Gera (died 1779).

This development was closely observed by Johannes Zumpe (1735-1783), an apprentice of Silbermann, in 1766. He, too, moved away from the ‘harpsichord’ shape to a more rectangular shape, with a small soundboard on the right-hand side. His pianos did not have in built legs; instead they were supported by trestles. These pianos had ‘uneven temperament’ (unlike ‘equal temperament’, ‘uneven temperament’ would be considered ‘out of tune’ by modern standards) and a reduced dynamic range due to lighter hammers. Zumpe took the new design to London in 1767. Its popularity was reinforced by J. C. Bach’s who played Zumpe’s piano at an early public piano performance. Clementi was also enthusiastic about the instrument.

By the late 18th century, and as a consequence of competing piano manufacturers, two different strands of ‘action’ mechanism had begun to evolve: the ‘Viennese’ action, and the ‘English’ action.

John Broadwood (1732-1812), a Scottish cabinet-maker, worked on developing the ‘English’ action. He continued with the ‘square piano’ design and added a new foot pedal mechanism. He also used a divided bridge (string vibrations are transmitted through the ‘bridge’ to the soundboard, where the sound is then amplified and projected). Beethoven (1770-1827), Hummel (1778-1837), Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and Chopin (1810-1849) all played on Broadwood pianos with a great deal of interest.

Johann Andreas Stein of Augsburg (1728-1792) worked on methods to improve both damping and the ‘escapement’ mechanism.

Stein achieved damping through a lever controlled by the knee just underneath the keyboard. This lever was equivalent to the pedals found on a modern piano – these are now controlled by the feet. Among others, Mozart and Beethoven both played on Stein pianos. Other Austrian manufacturers at this time included ‘Bösendorfer’ (still making pianos today), and ‘Graf’. Nanette, daughter of J. A. Stein, and her husband J. A. Streicher also made pianos. They worked in Vienna on developing the ‘Viennese’ action.

Unlike some instruments, but similar to others, constant usage over time causes pianos to deteriorate slowly.

So there was always a continual need for the supply of new instruments. Between 1791 an 1815 it was estimated that there were over 135 keyboard instrument makers in Vienna alone.

By c.1800 (late Classical), it had taken the piano about 100 years to become more popular than the harpsichord.

Composers and musicians appreciated the singing-like tone and better sustain of the piano. The pianoforte replaced the harpsichord in domestic music-making. During the 19th century, the piano played a significant role as the entertainment during social gatherings. It provided a meeting-ground for frequent musical ‘get togethers’ among younger generations, and asserted a certain social status. For this reason, piano casework was often made very ‘showy’ and highly decorative. Repertoire would include piano reductions of current orchestral pieces, as well as popular music from current Operas and Operettas. This provided opportunity for everyone to be involved in the music-making.

The piano also took on a significant role in seduction, and courtship traditions. Musical prowess was considered to be an important accomplishment for young women in the 19th century, and they would often be encouraged to play and sing for prospective husbands.

From 1800, many improvements were made to the construction and mechanisms: octave range, frame, escapement methods…

New developments were made at an astonishing rate in order to meet the ever-growing demands of composers (such as Liszt and Chopin). In the first years of the 19th century the keyboard range extended by two and a half octaves, and the sustain pedal and soundboard was developed – improving tone quality.

The wooden frame was replaced by an iron frame. This was much stronger and pianos could withhold higher string tensions, thus enabling thicker strings and a fuller, louder tone. The wooden frame would not have been able to cope with the forceful style of playing which was popular in the Romantic Era. The thin leather jackets which were used to cover each hammer had to be replaced by thicker materials in order to avoid an undesirable ‘clanging’ sound as the string was struck.

The ‘escapement’ mechanism was essential in any fortepianos because they used hammers; it was important that when a player depressed a key that only one sound was heard – with the hammer action there was always the risk of rebound, thus producing a faint echo and ruining the desired effect. The ‘escapement’ mechanism was in place to make sure the hammer returned to its original place without this ‘echo’ effect. However, up until the early 19th century, the pianos with heavier and slower actions could not rapidly repeat the same note, because the keys were too slow to return to normal position. This restricted technique. So, the firm ‘Erard’ developed a complex system of levers which they called ‘double escapement’. This allowed rapid repetition of the same note – which was, up until this point, impossible. It was no longer the case that the pianist had to wait until the hammer returned to its original position. This was because the hammer stayed at a different height which allowed the pianist to re-strike the key – even when the key was still returning to its start point. Repetitions of the same note could be played because the player did not have to wait for the key to come back up.

Initially, the terms ‘pianoforte’ and ‘fortepiano’ were used interchangeably. Today, however, ‘fortepiano’ refers to the wooden-framed keyboard instruments of the late 18th century and early 19th century, whilst ‘pianoforte’ refers to the modern iron-framed instrument.

By the middle of the 19th century, there were three major piano manufacturers.

The companies: Bechstein (based in Berlin), Blüther (based in Leipzig) and Steinway (based in New York) were all founded in 1853, and they still dominate the piano market today, along with Bösendorfer (which was established in 1828 in Austria), and Yamaha (which was established in 1887 in Japan).

Steinway’s most renowned piano was produced in 1859. It featured an innovative new way of overstringing the bass strings to run diagonally across the treble strings. This, combined with the one-piece iron frame (for extra strength) and the ‘double escapement’ mechanism paved the future for the modern grand piano, and provided a model for the way in which all piano manufacturers and grand pianos would eventually follow.

In the 20th century, percussive possibilities of the piano were exploited; new and alternative ways to create sound were written into scores, revealing new versatility.

In Percy Grainger’s (1882-1961) “The Warriors” (1916), the pianist is instructed to lean inside the piano and strike the strings with marimba mallets. In Henry Cowell’s (1897-1965) “Aeolian Harp” (1923) the player is instructed to strum or pluck the strings directly.