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Music in the classical era had reached its peak with Mozart and Haydn. So when Beethoven came along, he re-made and remolded the whole music scene. More than any other composer in history, Beethoven charted a completely revolutionary course for what music could be. His boldly inventive and experimental dynamics, tonality, rhythms, and forms were unlike anything anyone had ever heard before. Something else he was also changing too: the piano.
Beethoven played a significant role in the technical development of the piano. His musical & technical demands played a crucial role in driving the evolution of piano making during his time. He wanted “louder” and “bigger” pianos. It could be because of his deteriorating hearing, but he was also writing challenging music for the instrument.
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| A fortepiano |
In 1796, the 26 yr old Beethoven wrote a letter to a piano manufacturer, complaining, “One often thinks that one is merely listening to a harp.”
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| Letter from Beethoven to Thomas Broadwood, 3 February 1818 |
And in the following decades, Beethoven’s powerful playing inspired piano makers to design a new kind of piano. For example Beethoven piano concerto no.4 is inextricably linked to the technical development in piano making at the time and the resulting changes in sound. The new piano, extended to 6 octaves, and featured a completely different acoustic profile, thanks to triple stringing for all notes and a sturdier frame that could withstand much greater tensions. The richer sound and the more dynamic range, offer composers a previously unknown variety of expression and intensity
The modern piano that we know today, began to take shape in 1825, two years before Beethoven died. In his last decade of life, Beethoven owned two pianos, one built by Broadwood of London and one by Graf of Vienna. Beethoven’s late sonatas Op 109, 110, and 112, plus Hammerklavier, clearly reflect both a spirit and drama that assures us that he took full advantage of the range and capacities these instruments offered.
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| A Broadwood piano from Beethoven's era showing at The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at San José State University |
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