Biography of Bartolomeo Cristofori

4 may 1655 
27 January 1731 
Bartolomeo Cristofori is historically recognized as the inventor of the piano. He was born in Padua on day 4 may 1655. He worked in Florence in the Court of the Medici in the period around the year 1690. Between 1698 and 1700 invented the gravicembalo with piano and forte, a musical instrument that was later called fortepiano. The gravicembalo by Bartolomeo Cristofori was in all respects the musical instrument Pianoprecursor; It replaced the harpsichord, which used the mechanism of jacks, with a system of hammers with the escapement, so made it possible to vary the intensity of the sound, varying the force with which you acted on the keys. Initially the musical instruments of Bartolomeo Cristofori not met with great success, to witness this direction was the conversion back to harpsichords by many of his gravicembali. It is however important to note how Cristofori's invention paved the way to a large experimentation that became stronger and stronger. This research led to the refinement of the instrument he developed, giving birth to the modern piano. Bartolomeo Cristofori died in Florence at the age of 74 years, on 27 January 1731. In his career as a harpsichord maker built numerous pianos: we unfortunately arrived only three.

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