Rachmaninoff: Pianoconcerto no.2 op.18

Image via Il Wik

This is the first piano, made in 1722 by Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco in Florence.  Actually, it's not the first, but it is the oldest surviving piano in its original (i.e. unaltered) state.  It appears that Cristoforihad been making pianos at least by 1700, and so this is fairly late in his career.

These early pianos were expensive to make, and so were only purchased by the nobility.  They were also much lighter in construction than modern pianos, and so were not very loud - softer than the harpsichord.

But the beginning is but the beginning, and we all know how this has played out over the last three centuries as the piano has become perhaps the most popular home instrument in the world and has given rise to music like this, perhaps the greatest piece ever composed for piano.



Bartolomeo Cristofori was born on this day in 1655.