Great moments in pianistic history

And another below, a review by Kenneth Langbell for The English Language Bangkok Post

A Humid Recital Stirs Bangkok

by Kenneth Langbell

THE RECITAL, last evening in the chamber music room of the Erawan Hotel by US Pianist Myron Kropp, the first appearance of Mr. Kropp in Bangkok, can only be described by this reviewer and those who witnessed Mr. Kropp's performance asone of the most interesting experiences in a very long time.

A hush fell over the room as Mr Kropp appeared from the right of the stage, attired in black formal evening-wear with a small white poppy in his lapel. With sparse, sandy hair, a sallow complexion and a deceptively frail looking frame, the man who has repopularized Johann Sebastian Bach approached the Baldwin Concert Grand, bowed to the audience and placed himself upon the stool.

It might be appropriate to insert at this juncture that many pianists, including Mr. Kropp, prefer a bench, maintaining that on a screw-type stool they sometimes find themselves turning sideways during a particularly expressive strain. There was a slight delay, in fact, as Mr Kropp left the stage briefly, apparently in search of a bench, but returned when informed that there was none.

The History of the Piano

Let's take a look at the history of the piano.





When talking about the history of the piano mention must be made of theearly instrumentsthat paved its way.

The first historical mention of instruments is in Genesis 4:21. The King James Version reads as follows: "And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ". The first instrument in history to have a keyboard was the Hydraulis, the precursor of the modern organ. It was built in Greece about 220 B.C. By the Second Century A.D. the organ was commonly used at important festivities in Greece and the Roman Empire.

The earliest keyboards were played with the hands, wrists, fists, knees, or feet. Up to the 13th Century the scales were diatonic (as in GABCDEF) rather than the twelve tone chromatic scale we use today.

The piano is founded on earlier technological innovations. The 14th and 15th Centuries saw the development of different kinds of keyboard stringed instruments. Some came with hammers, including the chekker, dulce melos, and clavichord. Some were plucked instruments, including the virginal, spinet and harpsichord.

In this discussion of the history of the piano, let's now talk about its inventor. Who invented the piano? The modern piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) of Padua. He was an expert harpsichord maker, employed by Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, as the Keeper of the Instruments. The first piano he built was about the year 1700 or 1698. Historians are not in total agreement as to the exact date. The keyboard looked different to today's piano keyboard layout; the natural keys were black while the accidentals were white. It was Sebastian LeBlanc who suggested that the black and white keys be switched. The three Cristofori pianos that survive today date from the 1720s.

History of the piano - the harpsichord and clavichord 

Piano - Role of the piano: Encyclopedia II - Piano - Role of the piano

The piano is a crucial instrument in Western classical music, jazz, film, television and electronic game music, and most other complex western musical genres. A large number of composers being proficient pianists, the piano is often used as a tool for composition. Pianos were, and are, extremely popular instruments for private household ownership, especially among the middle- and upper-classes. Hence pianos have gained a place in the popular consciousness, and are sometimes referred to by nicknames, including: "the ivories", "the joanna", "the eighty-eight", and "the black(s) and white(s)." Playing the piano is somet ...

Aphex Twin: Encyclopedia - Aphex Twin Aphex Twin Aphex Twin (born Richard David James, August 18, 1971, Ireland) is a UK-based electronic music artist, credited with pushing forward the genres of techno, ambient, acid, and drum and bass. He has been described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music" ([1]). Aphex Twin - Biography Richard David James was born to Welsh parents Lorna and Derek James in 1971 in Limerick, Ireland. James spent his childhood in Cornwall, United Kingdom. As a teenager, he became a DJ and musician on the local rave scene, taking on the moniker "Aphex Twin". James formed the Rephlex Records label in 1991 with his friend Grant Wilson-Claridge and released his first records on this label, as well as Mighty Force and R&S Records of Belgium. After success with his early work, James relocated to London and released a slew of albums and EPs on the Warp Records label, under a bewildering set of aliases (from AFX and Polygon Window to the lesser known Gak and Power Pill).

Famous Piano Players

History is full of famous piano players in all musical genres. Since key-notes is dedicated primarily to classical music, this article focuses on the most famous and innovative piano players in classical music history. The are the "Big 5," those who had the most significant impact on piano playing.

Famous Piano Players Greatest Classical Pianists

• Ludwig van Beethoven (Germany, 1770-1827). He became well-known as a piano virtuoso in his day, with a powerful and direct playing style.
• Frederic Chopin (Poland, 1810-1849). Chopin played with a soft, elastic delicateness. Listeners said that he had the ability to create inky and subtle colors.

• Franz Liszt (Hungary, 1813-1886).One of the most famous piano players of all time! He had piano superpowers, and used to dazzle audiences with his extraordinary abilities.
  He was well-known (and mocked!) for acting dramatically while performing, contorting his face with passion and swaying his body.
• Anton Rubinstein (Russia, 1829-1894). A powerful pianistic force of nature. He used to give his audience headaches! Still, he had a wonderfully poetic and noble way of playing. Apparently he used to make loads of mistakes when he played, since he was focusing on expressing his personal idea of the music.
• Hans von Bulow (Germany, 1830-1984). A virtuoso, who performed the premieres of both Tchaikovsky and Liszt's first piano concertos. He had an incredible memory. He once learned an entire piece by reading the score on a train journey, then performed it the same evening at a concert!
• Sergei Rachmaninoff (Russia, 1873-1943). He was known as a famous piano player before a composer. His hands were ridiculously large, which allowed him to make huge stretches across the keyboard. His playing style was extremely clean and precise, and his tone was apparently golden and lyrical.
• Josef Hofmann (Poland, 1876-1957). A supreme virtuoso, with a calm and neat playing style. He had all sorts of inventive modifications to his piano to get the effects he wanted. For instance, some of his pianos had narrower keys than normal for his small hands!
• Arthur Rubinstein (Poland, 1887-1982). A charming old world personality combined with a well-traveled, well-read intellectual, and of course a master pianist.Rubinstein's powerful, golden interpretations are filled with the joy of music, and made him one of the most famous pianists of the 20th century.
  
  

Pianola information and resources

INTRODUCTION
For those who are not familiar with this instrument, it is best described simply as a self-playing piano. The notes to be played are represented by tiny perforations on interchangeable rolls of paper, while the player mechanism is powered entirely by suction, generated by the operation of two foot pedals. 

The operator, or 'pianolist', achieves dynamic shading of the music by varying the degree of pressure applied to the foot pedals. In addition, a set of hand-operated levers mounted just below the front of the keyboard provide accentuation, tempo control, activation of the sustain and soft pedals and selection of play and rewind modes. In the hands of an accomplished operator, a convincingly lifelike musical performance is achievable.

The player piano enjoyed its peak of popularity between 1900 and 1930, after which time the wireless, which was significantly cheaper and more versatile, became the main source of home entertainment. As the vast majority of player pianos are now at least seventy years old and many are sadly dilapidated, enthusiasts all over the world are devoting much time and effort to the restoration of these remarkable instruments.