A Natural History of the Piano: The Instrument, the Music, the Musicians

A Natural History of the Piano: The Instrument, the Music, the Musicians by Stuart Isacoff
Knopf

The piano is the most influential instrument in Western music - a fact due partly to its ubiquity: it is used in classical music, in rock and in jazz. It can be found in concert halls, homes, schools, churches and brothels. It has been an important influence on music itself, because its range and dynamic possibilities make it the chosen instrument of most composers and arrangers.

Stuart Isacoff, the founder of Piano Today magazine, charts the upward mobility of the instrument since its invention around 1711 and traces its path from the Florentine court to the concert halls of the world. He also analyses the greatest exponents of the piano, whether they be Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Oscar Peterson.

He brings a learned, critical eye to piano compositions and performers alike, and even finds time for some humour in detailing misadventures such as piano hammers that struck live cats rather than wire strings. The book is structured like a magazine, with sidebars on topics such as the difficulties of playing compositions by Franz Liszt and the importance of stage charisma, written by pianists past and present.

The piano grew out of the harpsichord, a keyboard instrument that makes a sound by plucking strings rather than striking them. The dulcimer, which has strings that are struck with hammers, was also an influence. As with many new technologies, no one is sure who made the first one. But the invention of the piano as we know it is credited to Bartolomeo Cristofori at the start of the 18th century. Cristofori wanted to make a keyboard instrument that responded to the subtleties of human touch.

Mozart, the first piano genius, brought the instrument into the limelight; Ludwig van Beethoven, who played thunderously, expanded its expressive possibilities. Mass-production later led to pianos turning up in homes and just about everywhere else.