Piano History and Musical Performance - Background

Background

The earliest pianos by Cristofori (ca. 1700) were lightweight objects, hardly sturdier in framing than a contemporary harpsichord, with thin strings of low tensile strength steel and brass and small, tubular-shaped hammers. During the Classical era, when pianos first became used widely by important composers, the piano was only somewhat more robust than in Cristofori's time; see fortepiano. It was during the period from about 1790 to 1870 that most of the important changes were made that created the modern piano:

• An increase in pitch range, from five octaves (see image at right) to the modern standard of seven and 1/3 octaves.
• iron framing, culminating in the single-piece cast iron frame
• ultra-tough steel strings, with three strings per note in the upper 2/3 of the instrument's range
• felt hammers
• cross-stringing
• the repetition action
• in general, an enormous increase in weight and robustness. A modern Steinway Model D weighs 480 kg (990 lb), about six times the weight of a late 18th century Stein piano.
• The hammers and action became much heavier, so that the touch (keyweight) of a modern piano is several times heavier than that of an 18th century piano.

The prototype of the modern piano, with all of these changes in place, was exhibited to general acclaim by Steinway at the Paris exhibition of 1867; by about 1900, most leading piano manufacturers had incorporated most of these changes.

These huge changes in the piano have somewhat vexing consequences for musical performance. The problem is that much of the most widely admired piano repertoire was composed for a type of instrument that is very different from the modern instruments on which this music is normally performed today. The greatest difference is in the pianos used by the composers of the Classical era; for example, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. But lesser difference are found for later composers as well. The music of the early Romantics, such as Chopin and Schumann--and even of still later composers (see below) --was written for pianos substantially different from ours.

One view that is sometimes taken is that these composers were dissatisfied with their pianos, and in fact were writing visionary "music of the future" with a more robust sound in mind. This view is perhaps plausible in the case of Beethoven, who composed at the beginning of the era of piano growth. However, many aspects of earlier music can be mentioned suggesting that it was composed very much with contemporary instruments in mind. It is these aspects that raise the greatest difficulties when a performer attempts to render earlier works on a modern instrument.