08/03/2026
Imagine if the piano was still known by its original name: Bartolomeo Cristofori's "gravicembalo che fa il piano e forte" (or "a big harpsichord that does quiets and louds") :D
I love when the topic of 'piano' and 'forte' comes up with my students, and we talk about how the instrument has gone through many changes, and how its name was shortened to just 'piano' (meaning 'quiet').
Is these times of change and instability it can be comforting to turn our attention to the old-fashioned unchanging things. And yet we can also get comfort from considering even the old-fashioned non-technological things were once surprising and ground-breaking!
If you're interested in the history of the piano, take a look at this short youtube documentary
From square pianos and detailed uprights to grands from the 1700s, we take a tour of St Cecilia's Hall at the University of Edinburgh and learn about the his...