{"id":40488,"date":"2019-05-01T12:32:05","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T16:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=40488"},"modified":"2019-05-02T12:29:57","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T16:29:57","slug":"coffee-break-the-worlds-oldest-surviving-piano-sounds-better-that-youd-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/05\/01\/coffee-break-the-worlds-oldest-surviving-piano-sounds-better-that-youd-think\/","title":{"rendered":"COFFEE BREAK | The World’s Oldest Surviving Piano Sounds Better That You’d Think"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"oldest
Watch a performance of one of the piano pieces ever written, played on the oldest known piano in the world. (Photo: MetMuseum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Preserved historical instruments provide\u00a0a tangible link to our musical past, but pianos are delicate creatures, and unlike violins, violas, and cellos,\u00a0don’t always age well.<\/p>\n

So when we find a video featuring a performance on a piano nearly 300 years old that sounds as good and this,\u00a0it’s a special treat.<\/p>\n

This priceless instrument was made in 1720 by\u00a0the inventor of the piano, Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731). The video features pianist Dongsok Shin performing one of the first pieces ever written for the piano \u2014 a Sonata composed in 1732 from the 12 Sonate da cimbalo di piano e forte detto volgarmente di martelletti, Op. 1<\/em>,\u00a0by\u00a0Lodovico Giustini (1685-1743).<\/p>\n

The early fortepiano is part of the collections at\u00a0Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and is the oldest of three surviving\u00a0Cristofori pianos.<\/p>\n

One of the most striking things is how different the fortepiano sounds from the modern piano (pianoforte). While the mechanics behind the instrument are essentially the same as a modern piano, the methods of piano construction and materials are what has made the most significant impact on the sound characteristic.<\/p>\n

Modern pianos (those produced after 1820) have higher string tensions, iron frames, and felt lined hammers rather than leather\/cork or plain wood.<\/p>\n

Take a listen here:<\/p>\n