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| piano (instrument) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Piano |
| Classification | Chordophone |
| Hornbostel Sachs | 314.122-4-8 |
| Developed | Early 18th century |
| Inventors | Bartolomeo Cristofori |
| Range | Typically A0–C8 (88 keys) |
piano (instrument) The piano is a large keyboard musical instrument in which strings are struck by felt-covered hammers to produce sound, widely used in classical music, jazz, popular music, and film score composing. Invented in the early 18th century, it became central to concert performance, chamber music, accompaniment, composition, and music education across institutions such as the Conservatoire de Paris, Juilliard School, and the Royal Academy of Music.
The piano traces origins to innovations by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Florence during the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and was rapidly adopted in capitals like Vienna, London, and Paris where instrument makers such as Johann Andreas Stein, Andreas Stein, Christoph Gottlieb Schröter and later firms like Érard and Steinway & Sons advanced its development. Composers including Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Igor Stravinsky expanded technical demands, driving design changes like double escapement invented by Sébastien Érard in Paris and iron frames patented by makers in New York City and Hamburg. The instrument’s role evolved through eras—Baroque music to Classical, Romantic music, and 20th-century classical music—and influenced composers such as Béla Bartók, Arnold Schoenberg, Dmitri Shostakovich, Philip Glass, and John Cage.
A piano’s major components—soundboard, cast iron plate, pinblock, strings, keyboard, and case—were refined by manufacturers like Steinway & Sons, Yamaha, Bösendorfer, Kawai, and Fazioli. Typical ranges and compass standards set by concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and the Wiener Musikverein rely on the 88-key specification A0–C8. The soundboard, often made from Sitka spruce sourced from regions like Pacific Northwest, is coupled to a heavy plate cast in foundries influenced by industrial centers in Sheffield and Suffolk. Actions use felt from manufacturers linked to trade networks through Hamburg Port Authority and Port of Yokohama.
The escapement, repetition, hammer shank, and wippens form the action mechanism, with innovations such as Érard’s double escapement enabling rapid repeated notes used in passages by Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Regulation procedures developed in workshops associated with institutions like Curtis Institute of Music and conservatories ensure key dip, let-off, and hammer distance meet concert standards set by orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic. Pedals—damper, una corda, and sostenuto—are integral to expressive techniques seen in works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, and Maurice Ravel.
Grand, upright, baby grand, concert grand, and square pianos represent common forms produced by firms such as Bösendorfer, Steinway & Sons, Yamaha, Fazioli, and historic makers like Érard and Broadwood. Specialized instruments include fortepiano used by Mozart and Joseph Haydn, fortepiano builders influenced by workshops in Vienna and London, toy pianos by manufacturers showcased at the Toy Fair, prepared piano techniques popularized by John Cage, and electric pianos and digital pianos developed by Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Roland Corporation. Historical variants like the square piano and clavichord were used in salons frequented by Jane Austen and George Frideric Handel.
Tuning to equal temperament or historical temperaments is performed by technicians certified by organizations such as the Piano Technicians Guild, with concert tunings coordinated for venues like Sydney Opera House and Lincoln Center before recitals by artists including Vladimir Horowitz, Martha Argerich, and Lang Lang. Maintenance includes voicing, regulation, string replacement, and soundboard inspection, often carried out in workshops associated with manufacturers such as Steinway & Sons and service networks in cities like London, Tokyo, and Milan. Climate control in halls and private spaces uses solutions adopted by institutions including the Metropolitan Opera to prevent pinblock and soundboard damage.
The piano repertoire spans solo sonatas, concertos, chamber works, accompaniments, and pedagogical literature composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich, Philip Glass, György Ligeti, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Camille Saint-Saëns, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and César Franck. Performance practice varies by period: fortepiano techniques for Mozart and Haydn; Romantic legato and rubato in Chopin and Liszt; and extended techniques in contemporary works by John Cage and George Crumb. Concert programming at festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, and the BBC Proms highlights period instruments and modern repertoire.
The piano is central to pedagogy in conservatories like the Moscow Conservatory, Royal College of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, and institutions such as Conservatoire de Paris and Juilliard School, shaping teaching methods developed by pedagogues like Franz Liszt, Theodor Leschetizky, Heinrich Neuhaus, Dorothy Taubman, and Carl Czerny. It influenced popular culture through pianists and entertainers including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz, Elton John, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Nat King Cole, and Fats Waller. The instrument plays a role in competitions and awards such as the International Chopin Piano Competition, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Leeds International Piano Competition, and the Queen Elisabeth Competition, affecting careers linked to concert halls including Carnegie Hall and orchestras like the London Symphony Orchestra.
Category:Keyboard instruments