Changes

==History==  

==History==  

In 1700 a keyboard player was faced with [[harpsichord]] or one of its siblings, which had brilliant sound but little modulation, and even less expressive qualities; or the [[clavichord]] on which one could express emotion, but only softly, and with little chance of being heard within an ensemble. (There was the dulcimer, but it had no keyboard.) Starting from around this date when an [[Italian]], one Bartolemeo Cristofori, began experimenting with “a harpsichord with loud and soft”, to the first decades of the 19th century when the piano reached its more or less modern form, the development of the piano went ahead in Germany and Austria, France, England and America – developments in the mechanics of the action, on the shape and strength of the box, the introduction finally in America of the single-cast immensely strong metal frame, improvements in the pedal action; all helped the formation of an instrument that was to be as suitable for the family parlour as in the concert hall.

In 1700 a keyboard player was faced with [[harpsichord]] or one of its siblings, which had brilliant sound but little dynamic modulation, and even fewer expressive qualities; or the [[clavichord]] on which one could control the dynamics through touch, but only softly, and with little chance of being heard within an ensemble. (There was the dulcimer, but it had no keyboard.) Starting from around this date when an [[Italian]], one Bartolemeo Cristofori, began experimenting with “a harpsichord with loud and soft”, to the first decades of the 19th century when the piano reached its more or less modern form, the development of the piano went ahead in Germany and Austria, France, England and America – developments in the mechanics of the action, on the shape and strength of the box, the introduction finally in America of the single-cast immensely strong metal frame, improvements in the pedal action; all helped the formation of an instrument that was to be as suitable for the family parlour as in the concert hall.

By the 1770s the piano, in a stage of development we now often refer to as the “forte-piano” had taken over from the harpsichord as the instrument of choice for the composers of the day: the [[Bach]] sons, [[Joseph Haydn]], [[Mozart]] and others. In another 40 to 50 years its power and expressive range had reached relatively modern standards. (Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is to listen to a piano sonata written by Haydn or Mozart, then compare it to nearly any of the later [[Beethoven]] sonatas – he wrote 32, and their emotional range and expressive power are positively symphonic!)

By the 1770s the piano, in a stage of development we now often refer to as the “forte-piano” had taken over from the harpsichord as the instrument of choice for the composers of the day: the [[Bach]] sons, [[Joseph Haydn]], [[Mozart]] and others. In another 40 to 50 years its power and expressive range had reached relatively modern standards. (Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is to listen to a piano sonata written by Haydn or Mozart, then compare it to nearly any of the later [[Beethoven]] sonatas – he wrote 32, and their emotional range and expressive power are positively symphonic!)