Title: The World's Oldest Surviving Piano Sounds Better Than You'd Think Source:
Musical Toronto URL Source:http://www.musicaltoronto.org/2016/ ... an-haydn-mozart-and-beethoven/ Published:Dec 7, 2016 Author:Musical Toronto Post Date:2016-12-13 20:21:14 by X-15 Keywords:piano Views:332 Comments:19
While music is inherently ephemeral art form, preserved historical instruments provide a tangible link to our musical past. But pianos are delicate creatures, and unlike violins, violas, and cellos, they get actually worse with age, not better.
So when we find a video featuring a performance on a piano nearly 300 years old, the oldest known in existence today, it is a very special treat. And what makes it all the more extraordinary is just how good it sounds.
This priceless instrument was made in 1720 by the 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 — a Sonata composed in 1732 from the 12 Sonate da cimbalo di piano e forte detto volgarmente di martelletti, Op. 1, by Lodovico Giustini (1685-1743).
The early fortepiano is part of the collections at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and is the oldest of three surviving Cristofori pianos.
#4. To: X-15, randge, Lod, sneakypete (#0)(Edited)
I thought there were Harpsichord Stores in every neighborhood, not just the marginal ones like mine. Ours. It actually raises my spirits a bit to know that someone is making a living selling harpsichords less that three miles from my abode.
This instrument is musically similar to the pentagonal virginal but is built as a thick case “false inner-outer” model with painted exterior and lid. It has moldings and scrolled cheek blocks.
I had no idea! No wonder the authorities are so intent on keeping down the harpsichord fans. Or something.