The piano is just over 300 years old. In that time it has grown from a delicate experiment in an Italian court workshop into the instrument found in homes, schools, churches and concert halls all over the world. Here is a short history of how it happened.
A short timeline
- Around 1700: Bartolomeo Cristofori builds the first piano in Florence, Italy.
- 1730s–1740s: Gottfried Silbermann builds pianos in Germany based on Cristofori’s design.
- 1770s–1790s: Viennese and English makers develop two different styles of piano.
- Around 1800: The first upright pianos appear.
- 1821: Sébastien Érard patents the double escapement action, allowing fast repeated notes.
- 1820s–1840s: Cast-iron frames are introduced, allowing much higher string tension.
- 1850s: Steinway & Sons is founded in New York and helps define the modern grand piano.
- 20th century: Piano making spreads worldwide, with Japanese makers such as Yamaha and Kawai becoming major names.
The story in more detail
The invention of the piano
Before the piano, keyboard players had the harpsichord, which plucks its strings and cannot play louder or softer, and the clavichord, which is expressive but very quiet. Around 1700, Bartolomeo Cristofori, an instrument keeper at the Medici court in Florence, built a keyboard instrument in which small hammers struck the strings. He called it a gravicembalo col piano e forte, a harpsichord that could play both soft and loud. That name was later shortened to “pianoforte” and then simply “piano”.
Early pianos in Germany and Vienna
An article describing Cristofori’s invention was translated into German, and German organ builder Gottfried Silbermann began building pianos based on it. Silbermann’s pupils and other makers carried the craft further. In Vienna, makers such as Johann Andreas Stein built light, responsive pianos with a clear tone. These were the pianos Mozart and the young Beethoven knew.
English pianos and a bigger sound
In London, makers such as John Broadwood built sturdier pianos with a heavier action and a fuller, more powerful tone. Beethoven owned a Broadwood, and the demand for more volume and range pushed piano makers to build ever larger and stronger instruments.
The upright piano
Grand pianos take up a lot of space. Around 1800, makers began standing the strings upright to create pianos that fit into ordinary homes. Over the 19th century the upright became the most common piano in the world, and it remains the piano most families own today.
Iron frames and the double escapement
Two inventions made the modern piano possible. In 1821, Sébastien Érard in Paris patented the double escapement action, which lets a note be repeated quickly without the key returning all the way up. From the 1820s onwards, makers also began using cast-iron frames, which could withstand the enormous tension of thicker, heavier strings. Together these gave the piano its power, reliability and responsiveness.
Steinway and the modern grand
Steinway & Sons was founded in New York in 1853 and combined a full cast-iron frame with overstrung (cross-strung) bass strings. Their designs set the pattern for the modern concert grand. You can read more about the famous Steinway sound on my voicing and toning page.
The 20th century and today
Many European factories were damaged or destroyed during the Second World War, and some famous makers never fully recovered. Japanese makers, particularly Yamaha and Kawai, grew to become some of the largest piano makers in the world. Today digital pianos are popular too, but an acoustic piano that is well built and well looked after can still give generations of pleasure.
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