Uncommon Keyboards: Pianos That Broke the 88-Key Mould

The piano as we all know it right this moment, an 88-key behemoth in black, is the results of innovation upon innovation for the reason that first invention of the ‘fortepiano’ by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700.

The fortepiano (that means ‘loud gentle’) was the subsequent improvement after the harpsichord. Like a harp, the harpsichord was performed by plucking strings; on this case, by touching a key, it launched a goose quill to cross the string, plucking it because it glided by. Harpsichords couldn’t be dynamically altered – they produced the identical sound irrespective of how laborious or gentle you performed. The truth is, due to its plucking movement, you had to make use of fairly a little bit of power on the important thing. You may muffle it by retaining the lid closed, however that was about all you can do for dynamics.

The sound was fairly small and skinny. Its nice benefit over the instrument it changed, the lute, was the power to play a number of notes without delay.

Henry Purcell: Suite No. 1 in G Main, Z. 660: I. Prelude (Terence R. Charlston, harpsichord)

Cristofori’s fortepiano marketed its nice innovation in its title. By calling it ‘Loud-Mushy’ (fortepiano), he informed his prospects what it may do.

The brand new hammer mechanism developed by Cristofori meant {that a} string may sound for longer. The fuller sound and the power to play a word loudly or softly gave composers a better vary of sound prospects.

Hearken to the richer sound of this fortepiano, in comparison with the sooner harpsichord.

Antonio Rosetti: Fortepiano Sonata in B-Flat Main, E. 3/Ok.V:3: I. Allegro (Christoph Hammer, fortepiano)

It wasn’t till the 1760s that the fortepiano actually discovered its market, with music particularly for the instrument being bought and live shows that includes it being marketed.

Each musical instrument maker tried to make their very own improvements to the instrument, including pedals for sustaining the sound, for reducing off the sound, for including percussion results, for altering the sound, and for altering the motion to be as gentle as attainable (a speciality of the Viennese makers).

The trendy piano is available in quite a lot of types: upright (with the strings at a 90° angle to the keys) and grand (extra just like the fortepiano generally design, however way more sturdy).

The brand new pianos have been constructed round an iron body that might stand a lot better rigidity than the sooner fortepianos. The place the vary of the fortepiano had been about 4 octaves (48 keys), the vary of the piano was established at 88 keys (7 1/3 octaves).

Some speciality pianos embrace the toy piano, made for kids however utilized by grown-up composers for a unique keyboard sound. As a substitute of strings, the notes are performed by hammers hitting tuned rods.

John Cage: Suite for Toy Piano: I. — (Xenia Pestova, toy piano)

A pedal piano is like an organ in that there’s an extra keyboard to be performed by the ft (Mozart owned one, as did the French composer Alkan). There are two methods for the strings to be sounded: one includes a mechanism that runs connectors as much as the piano case and the opposite, the Doppio Borgato, brings in a second piano case.

Jean Guillou DOPPIO BORGATO pedalpiano – Concerto Teatro Olimpico Vicenza

Different piano makers prolonged the keyboard. Bösendorfer added 9 further bass keys, bringing the whole from 88 to 97. To make sure gamers gained’t get confused, all of the keys are colored black, and a few variations actually have a little cowl, so that you don’t hit them by chance. Busoni was the primary to put in writing for it, and Bartók, Debussy, and Ravel adopted him. The Australian piano makers Stuart & Sons have created 108- and 112-key pianos.

Carlo Grante performs Debussy on Bosendorfer Imperial – Estampes – 1. Pagodes

Different piano innovators didn’t search to vary the mechanism, however fairly how the entire piano was arrange.

Some gamers wished extra ergonomic, curved keyboards in order that the bottom keys have been as removed from the participant because the centre keys. This wasn’t a brand new request; the thought had come up within the late 18th century, and varied examples have been constructed.

One composer who was in favour of the curved piano was Ernst von Dohnányi. Within the early twentieth century, Dohnányi used a curved piano made by Bösendorfer, referred to as the Clutsam-Bösendorfer, designed by the Australian pianist, composer, and inventor George H. Clutsam in 1907. Bringing the far reaches of the keyboard into simple attain meant that the performer didn’t have to maneuver his physique back and forth. Dohnányi beloved it, however different performers discovered it tough to regulate their realized physique actions to a keyboard the place they may sit nonetheless.

Ernő Dohnányi: Suite within the Olden Fashion, Op. 24: III. Courante: Vivace (Sofja Gülbadamova, Clutsam-Bösendorfer)

One other curved piano that mixes two concepts without delay is the Maene-Viñoly Live performance Grand Piano, which has each a curved keyboard and is ‘straight-strung’, i.e., all of the strings exit immediately from the keys. In distinction, in regular grand pianos they’re ‘overstrung’, i.e., the bass strings cross the tenor strings at an angle.

One of many nice advocates of Maene’s straight-strung grand pianos has been Daniel Barenboim. Barenboim had initially requested Steinway & Sons to construct him a straight-strung piano, and so they referred him to Chris Maene.

Daniel Barenboim – Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No.1 in A flat Main (Stay from Pierre Boulez Saal, 2020)

Barenboim describes the piano coming from what he heard when he performed Liszt’s restored grand piano in 2011. Every of the completely different registers of the piano (treble, center, tenor, bass) takes on particular person voices and hues, all of that are misplaced in a contemporary cross-strung piano, the place the best is a sound that’s concentrated in the course of the keyboard. It’s been described as a ‘homogeneous’ sound. Different pianists who play 19^th-century straight-strung pianos, akin to these made by the French maker Érard, describe their pianos as possessing ‘superior readability’.

One very particular piano was the one-off piano constructed by Adrian Mann in New Zealand. It weighs greater than a ton, is 5.7 m (18 ft) lengthy, and has actually spectacular bass strings. You’ll word within the overview within the video under how lengthy the keys are.

Alexander piano recording

From toy pianos with fewer than 2 dozen keys to Stuart & Sons 102-keyboard monsters, from a petite grand of simply 4’5″ to 4’10” in size (137 to 146 cm) to Adrian Mann’s monster at 18 ft lengthy (5.7 m), there’s a world of pianos on the market.

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