Bartolomeo Cristofori Invented The Piano. So Why Did Everyone Forget About Him?
So why do we have to be reminded of Bartolomeo Cristoforis name? After all, there must be a reason pianos arent called Cristoforis.
“It’s rare that such an old instrument has so clear an inventor and is so obviously a revelation. So why do we have to be reminded of Bartolomeo Cristofori’s name? After all, there must be a reason pianos aren’t called Cristoforis.” Via artsjournal.com
Bartolomeo Cristofori. Born on 4 May, 1655 in Padua, northern Italy, Cristofori initially worked making harpsichords and clavichords and was employed by Prince Ferdinando de Medici, son of the duke of Tuscany. He is believed to have started work on what would become a piano in the 1690s and the first one is thought to have been made in 1709.
Image from theguardian.com
In a harpsichord the strings are plucked, so it is not possible to play the notes softer or louder. Cristofori managed to design a mechanism that transferred the pressure placed on the keys to the hammers that hit the strings.
He is believed to have started work on what would become a piano in the 1690s and the first one is thought to have been made in 1709.
In a harpsichord the strings are plucked, so it is not possible to play the notes softer or louder. Cristofori managed to design a mechanism that transferred the pressure placed on the keys to the hammers that hit the strings. Via independent.co.uk
Who invented the piano? Google doodle marks Bartolomeo Cristofori’s 360th birthday
Googles latest doodle celebrates the 360th birthday of Bartolomeo Cristofori, the man widely credited with inventing the piano. Cristofori’s entry in Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that little is known of his life and that his invention was not well known in his lifetime
On the blog dedicated to its doodles, Google wrote that one of Cristofori’s “biggest innovations was creating a hammer mechanism that struck the strings on a keyboard to create sound. The use of a hammer made it possible to produce softer or louder sounds depending upon how light or hard a player pressed on the keys”.
It added: “Being able to change the volume was a major breakthrough. And that’s exactly what doodler Leon Hong wanted to highlight in this interactive doodle.”
Cristofori’s entry in Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that little is known of his life and that his invention was not well known in his lifetime, even if it has since become ubiquitous.
It reads: “Cristofori apparently invented the piano around 1709, and, according to contemporary sources, four of his pianos existed in 1711.” Via theguardian.com
Sit down a play for a while. Today’s #GoogleDoodle honors piano inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori http://t.co/h60lI09k58 pic.twitter.com/tl2hPku3Hv
— Google (@Google) May 4, 2015