History of the Piano 1700 Bartolomeo Cristoforis new
History of the Piano
1700 Bartolomeo Cristofori's "new invention" of the piano e forte recorded, Florence, Italy
1711 Scipione Maffei publishes a journal article about the piano
1716 Jean Marius submits hammer-keyboard designs to Royal Academy of Sciences, Paris
1721 Christoph Gottlieb Schröter submits hammer-keyboard designs to the Saxon Court, Dresden
1725 Translation of Maffei's article into German stimulates widespread interest in pianos Pianos first advertised in Vienna
1730 s Pianos known to be in Portuguese and Spanish courts
1730 Kirkman piano makers founded in London, England
1732 First published piano music, by Ludovico Giustini
1739 Domenico del Mela builds earliest known upright piano, Gagliano, Italy
1740 George Frederic Handel plays on a piano, London, England
1747 J. S. Bach plays a Silberman piano at the Prussian Court, Potsdam, and composes the Musical Offering
1750 s Pianos advertised for sale in France
1753 -62 C. P. E. Bach: Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments published
1760 s Pianos derived from Cristofori built in Spain and Portugal
1767 Early public piano performances, one by Johann Christian Bach, London
1768 First public piano performance in Paris
1771 Americus Backers produces the English grand piano, London
1771 Earliest reported public piano performance in North America by David Propert, Boston
1771 Robert Stodart takes out a patent using the name "Grand" to describe his instrument. This was the first known use of the word "Grand" in a patent.
1773 First public piano performance in New York
1774 John Joseph Merlin comes to England introduces the "Una Corda Pedal" which moved the action to one side just hitting two strings instead of three, making the piano quieter. *first pedal invented*
1779 Muzio Clementi publishes his first piano sonatas, London
1780 s Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach publishes series of sonatas and fantasias for piano Haydn takes up the piano
1780 Anton Walter making pianos, including one for Mozart, in Vienna
1781 Mozart and Clementi 'duel' in Vienna
1783 English piano manufacturer Broadwood is credited with the invention of the sustain pedal. *second pedal invented*
1784 -6 Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 14 -25 composed
1794 -5 Haydn: 'London' piano sonatas and trios composed
1795 Beethoven: 3 Piano Trios, Op. 1 and 3 Piano Sonatas, Op. 2 published
1797 First piano magazine, The Pianoforte, London
1800 John Isaac Hawkins of Philadelphia makes small uprights
1801 Edward Riley obtains a patent for a transposing piano, in which the keyboard moved laterally, allowing keys to work on different notes Challen Pianos London was established. Their clam to fame is that they made the worlds largest grand: twelve feet long
1817 Thomas Broadwood, London presents a grand piano to Beethoven, Vienna
1820 First successful use of metal in grand piano frame by Thom and Allen, London
1823 Jonas Chickering begins making pianos in Boston
1826 Henri Pape patents use of felt for hammer covering, Paris Robert Wornum patents tape-check action, the basis for modern uprights, London
1828 Ignaz Bösendorfer begins making pianos, Vienna
1828 Johann Nepomuk Hummel: A Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instruction on the Art of Playing the Piano Forte published.
1833 Chopin: Études Op. 10 published
1837 Knabe Company established, Baltimore
1839 Czerny: The Compete Theoretical and Practical Pianoforte School, Op. 500 published Liszt establishes the solo recital, performing from memory and without assisting artists
1843 Chickering patents one-piece metal frame for grands
1848 Debain invents an automatic mechanical piano, Paris
1853 Steinway & Sons, New York established *this is still one of the most popular piano companies today. Steinway pianos are considered very elite*
1853 Chickering builds new factory, second largest building in U. S.
1854 Mason & Hamlin established in Boston
1856 Wurlitzer Company established, Chicago *along with Steinway, this company Is another very elite and classical piano company*
1859 Henry Steinway, Jr. patents crossstringing for grands
1862 At London Exposition, Steinway wins a medal with cross-strung grand
1862 Baldwin established in Cincinnati, Ohio *along with Steinway and Wurlitzer, Baldwin is another very elite piano company*
1867 Chickering and Steinway win the top prizes at Paris Exposition
1872 Theodore Steinway patents the duplex scale to enrich the tone
1874 Albert Steinway patents the sostenuto pedal (middle pedal on modern grands)
1874 Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition originally composed for piano
1885 Aeolian Organ & Music Co. founded to make automatic organs, later automatic pianos
1899 Torakusu Yamaha begins making pianos, Japan
1899 Scott Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag published
1900 Baldwin wins grand prize at Paris Exposition
1901 Welte-Mignon builts a player-piano mechanism, Freiburg, Germany
1904 American piano manufacturers make bonfire of square pianos, Atlantic City
1905 The Juilliard School founded
1908 American Piano Co. founded, incorporates Chickering, Knabe, Weber, Haines Brothers, and others National Association of Piano Tuners founded
1910 Steinway & Sons moves its factory entirely from Manhattan to Astoria, Long Island NY
1910 Broadwood among the first British piano makers to make player pianos
1919 156, 000 regular pianos and 180, 000 player pianos manufactured in U. S.
1923 Jelly Roll Morton's first recordings, Chicago
1924 Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue premiered
1927 Koichi Kawai leaves Yamaha and starts his own firm, Japan
1928 Earl "Fatha" Hines records Apex Blues, Weather Bird
1929 Neo-Bechstein, electric piano with electromagnetic pickups to amplify struck strings
1933 Art Tatum's first professional solo recordings
1940 John Cage: Bacchanale, first “prepared” piano piece
1953 Liberace wins 2 Emmy Awards for network television programs
1958 Van Cliburn wins Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, first American to do so.
1960 Harold Rhodes develops the electric piano (Fender-Rhodes)
1966 Bösendorfer, Vienna, acquired by Kimball, Chicago
1968 Young Chang begins making pianos, Inchon, S. Korea
1969 Japanese piano production exceeds that of all other countries combined Yamaha is Japan's largest producer
1972 CBS buys Steinway & Sons
1980 s Development of computerized player pianos, Bösendorfer, Yamaha, Baldwin, and others
1985 A group of Boston businessmen buys Steinway & Sons from CBS
1990 Young Chang buys Kurzweil Music Systems, American maker of electronic keyboards
1995 Steinway and Selmer merge into Steinway Musical Instruments Baldwin buys Wurlitzer and Chickering
1998 Broadwood celebrates their 270 th anniversary
2000 The year 2000 marks the 300 th year of piano manufacturing Piano 300 exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
2001 Baldwin files for bankruptcy
2002 Gibson purchases Baldwin Piano Co. , including the Chickering and Wurlitzer names.
2002 Bosendorfer purchased by Austrian banking group and releases Porsche Design 7 foot grand
2003 Steinway celebrates its 150 th anniversary at Carnegie Hall in New York
2003 Bluthner releases its "left-handed" or "backwards" grand piano - with the treble keys, hammers and strings on the left and the bass on the right. Many ask “Why? ”
2003 Grotrian (Germany) introduces its Duo Grand Piano - 2 grand pianos placed side by side with keyboards at opposite ends, as in a duo piano concert, with connected soundboards and a common lid.
Grotrian Duo Grand Piano
2005 Steinway announces to move production of some of the Essex models to the Pearl River Factory in China.
2006 Schulze Pollman partners with Ferrari Motor Cars to launch limited edition piano
Piano parts and info 88 Keys (except for Bösendorfer) Bass notes have 1 string, Tenor notes have 2, and Treble notes have 3 for 236 total strings 160 to 200 pounds on each Total of 35, 000 lbs. !
Grand Piano cut-away
Back frame
Sound board
Soundboard top
Soundboard bottom
Frame
Seiler suspension piano
Fazioli Liminal piano
Kawai Acrylic paino
Baldwin Zebra
Challen 12 foot grand Weight – 2, 000 lbs l String tension – 50, 000 lbs. l
Schimmel Pegasus
Bösendorfer short
Bösendorfer medium
- Slides: 110