Beauty of the Piano
Duplicating a European craftsman’s musical marvel
The oldest surviving piano doesn’t get played very much these days, sitting silently on display in Gallery 684 on the second floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Made by hand by the Italian craftsman Bartolomeo Cristofori, it is the eldest sibling of three such surviving instruments from the Florentine workshop of the man credited with its invention. In 2020, Cristofori’s instrument will arrive at a noteworthy milestone when it turns 300 years old.
It’s a reminder that what was once an exclusive musical instrument accessible only to members of the aristocracy—Portugal’s king was a client of Cristofori—has paradoxically become the world’s most popular instrument today. Evolving from its early existence as an intimate, delicate-sounding, mostly wooden instrument spanning 54 keys, with a unique ability to play loud, soft and in between, the modern piano now encompasses 88 (or more) keys. The largest specimens can fill the grandest of concert halls with their glorious sound.
Despite waxing and waning popularity during the course of three centuries, the piano has proven to be unique in its allure, comprising a self-contained musical universe of seemingly endless possibilities. And the instrument has inspired countless composers, resulting in a repertoire that is as vast as it is varied.
The rich, complicated history of the piano has been dominated by visionary craftsmen following Cristofori’s footsteps, such as John Broadwood, Sébastien Érard and, of course, Henry E. Steinway. After centuries of experimentation and improvement, piano design would seem to have reached a pinnacle.
Nowadays, budget, purpose and personal taste largely determine the selection of a particular instrument. But if the acoustic piano is unlikely to change fundamentally in the future, a number of craftspeople continue to bring significant design innovations to it.
Paolo Fazioli is one such modern pioneer. His company, founded in 1981 and located near Venice, Italy, aimed to create a grand piano that would produce a sound superior to any other piano,
while “constantly looking to the future,” to quote its website. Each handcrafted piano takes well over two years to build.
Fazioli’s Model F308, the company’s largest, is a grand piano more than a foot longer than the 9-foot Steinway Model D, the standard instrument of larger concert venues. The F308 also features a special, fourth pedal that brings the hammers closer to the strings, allowing for a softer volume, lighter touch and more facile note repetition.
Fazioli pianos are making their way around the world, with recent acquisitions by the Juilliard School serving as a testament to their quality as well as providing a significant public relations coup. Renowned artists such as Angela Hewitt, Herbie Hancock and Daniil Trifonov are also singing the instrument’s praises.
Hewitt has noted that “the action is incredibly responsive to every variation in touch, and everything I imagine in my head I can produce with my fingers. Other pianos can be very beautiful, but are less interesting because the sound cannot be varied to such an extent as on a Fazioli.”
If you would like to hear the magnificent Fazioli F308 in action, you are indeed fortunate: The Grand Piano Series in Naples, Florida, hosts an ongoing series of concerts at Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church, 1225 Piper Blvd. This year’s series celebrates Beethoven’s 250th birthday by inaugurating a complete cycle of his 32 piano sonatas, along with recitals by such keyboard luminaries as Robert Plano, Roman Rabinovich and Shai Wosner. Visit grandpianoseries.com for more info.
Pianist, instructor and musicologist Erik Entwistle received an undergraduate degree in music from Dartmouth College. He earned a post-graduate degree in piano performance at Washington University in St. Louis. He earned his doctorate in musicology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He teaches on Sanibel Island.