Bartolomeo cristofori family

Bartolomeo Cristofori , a harpsichord maker for a Florentine duke, built the world's first piano. He later made several technical alterations to improve the instrument's acoustics that have remained essential components of its construction.

Where did bartolomeo cristofori go to school

Almost nothing is known about the personal life of Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori, except that he was born in the northern Italian city of Padua on May 4, He became a harpsichord maker, and by his reputation brought him to the attention of Prince Ferdinando de Medici, son of the grand duke of Tuscany. The prince owned forty harpsichords and spinets, and hired Cristofori to both curate the collection and build new ones.

The harpsichord, also called a clavecembalo or clavecin, dated back to the fourteenth century and took the form of strings stretched over a wooden sounding board. Notes emerged when a plectrum, or pick made from a bird's quill or leather, struck the string. Its main drawback was an inability to emit gradations in tone; striking the keys hard, or barely at all, produced the exact same vibration.

Larger harpsichords, instruments that contained three or even four sets of strings, were eventually developed that gave an added depth to the sound. However, even the smallest harpsichord was expensive to build and maintain. They were the sole province of kings and minor nobles who possessed a fondness for the arts, like the Medicis.

Where was bartolomeo cristofori born

The harpsichord was the predecessor of Cristofori's piano, but it also had links to a less rarified instrument. The dulcimer, an ancient stringed instrument probably brought to Europe from Asia by Romany gypsies, was a far more populist musical instrument. It was a simple stringed board, and could be played by those with a rudimentary musical ability.

Literature of the era rarely even mentions it, so lowly was it considered to be inside established musical circles. A violinist named Pantaleon Hebenstreit improved on the dulcimer around , creating a double one with a five-octave range. The player could inject much more emotion into the playing, and was able to produce a range of tones.