In the period lasting from about 1790 to 1860, the Mozart-era piano
underwent tremendous changes, which led to the modern form of the instrument.
This evolution was in response to a consistent preference by composers
and pianists for a more powerful, sustained piano sound. It was also a
response to the ongoing Industrial Revolution, which made available technological
resources like high-quality steel for strings (see piano wire) and precision
casting for the production of iron frames.
Over time, piano playing became a more strenuous and muscle-taxing activity,
as the force needed to depress the keys, as well as the length of key travel,
was increased. The tonal range of the piano was also increased, from the
five octaves of Mozart's day to the 7? (or even more) octaves found on
modern pianos.
In the first part of this era, technological progress owed much to the
English firm of Broadwood, which already had a strong reputation for the
splendour and powerful tone of its harpsichords. Over time, the Broadwood
instruments grew progressively larger, louder, and more robustly constructed.
The Broadwood firm, which sent pianos to both Haydn and Beethoven, was
the first to build pianos with a range of more than five octaves: five
octaves and a fifth during the 1790s, six octaves by 1810 (in time for
Beethoven to use the extra notes in his later works), and seven octaves
by 1820. The Viennese makers followed these trends. The two schools, however,
used different piano actions: the Broadwood one more robust, the Viennese
more sensitive.
By the 1820s, the center of innovation had shifted to Paris, where the
Érard firm manufactured pianos used by Chopin and Liszt. In 1821,
Sébastien Érard invented the double escapement action, which
permitted a note to be repeated even if the key had not yet risen to its
maximum vertical position, a great benefit for rapid playing. When the
invention became public, and as revised by Henri Herz, the double escapement
action gradually became the standard action for grand pianos, and is used
in all grand pianos currently produced.
Some other important technical innovations of this era include the following:
Use of three strings rather than two for all but the lower notes
The iron frame, also called the "plate", sits atop the soundboard,
and serves as the primary bulwark against the force of string tension.
The iron frame was the ultimate solution to the problem of structural integrity
as the strings were gradually made thicker, tenser, and more numerous (in
a modern grand the total string tension can approach 20 tons). The single
piece cast iron frame was patented in 1825 in Boston by Alpheus Babcock,
combining the metal hitch pin plate (1821, claimed by Broadwood on behalf
of Samuel Hervé) and resisting bars (Thom and Allen, 1820, but also
claimed by Broadwood and Érard). Babcock later worked for the Chickering
& Mackays firm which patented the first full iron frame for grand pianos
(1843). Composite forged metal frames were preferred by many European makers
until the American system was fully adopted by the early 20th century.
Felt hammer coverings, first introduced by Henri Pape in 1826, gradually
replaced skillfully layered leather hammers, the more consistent material
permitted wider dynamic ranges as hammer weights and string tensions increased.
The sostenuto pedal (see below), invented in 1844 by Jean Louis Boisselot
and improved by the Steinway firm in 1874.
The over strung scale, also called "cross-stringing"; the strings are
placed in a vertically overlapping slanted arrangement, with two heights
of bridges on the soundboard, rather than just one. This permits larger,
but not necessarily longer, strings to fit within the case of the piano.
Over stringing was invented by Jean-Henri Pape during the 1820s, and first
patented for use in grand pianos in the United States by Henry Steinway
Jr. in 1859.
Duplexes’’’ or aliquot scales; In 1872 Theodore Steinway patented a
system to control different components of string vibrations by tuning their
secondary parts in octave relationships with the sounding lengths. Similar
systems developed by Blüthner (1872), as well as Taskin (1788), and
Collard (1821) used more distinctly ringing undamped vibrations to modify
tone.
Today's upright, grand, and concert grand pianos attained their present
forms by the end of the 19th century. Improvements have been made in manufacturing
processes, and many individual details of the instrument continue to receive
attention (see Innovations in the Piano).
Some early pianos had shapes and designs that are no longer in use.
The square piano had horizontal strings arranged diagonally across
the rectangular case above the hammers and with the keyboard set in the
long side, it is variously attributed to Silbermann and Frederici and was
improved by Petzold and Babcock. Built in quantity through the 1890s (in
the United States), Steinway's celebrated iron framed over strung squares
were more than two and a half times the size of Zumpe's wood framed instruments
that were successful a century before, their overwhelming popularity was
due to inexpensive construction and price, with performance and sonority
frequently restricted by single actions and double stringing |