Genesis of the Piano (Cristofori, Maffei and others) by Andrew G Lockhart Credit for inventing the piano belongs to an Italian, Bartolomeo Cristofori, who was born in Padua in 1655. Little is known of his early life but he must have trained as a craftsman and technician. By the beginning of the 1690s, he had …
Category: music
In Black and White [3]
Early Keyboards [Hydraulis, Organ and Clavichord] by Andrew G Lockhart The hydraulis was invented in Alexandria by a talented engineer called Ctesibius, probably an Egyptian. However, at the time, Alexandria was a Greek city, the centre of Hellenic learning and culture, and whatever the inventor’s nationality, the organ is claimed as a Greek invention. By …
In Black and White (2)
Genesis of the Piano [A Fusion of Sounds] by Andrew G Lockhart The piano combines keyboard and strings in a unique way. As a keyboard instrument, it has much in common with the harpsichord and organ. But open up all three and the similarities fade. True, both harpsichord and piano have strings. However, the arrangement …
In Black and White
The Joys of the Grand Piano [Perfection of Art and Science] by Andrew G. Lockhart I have two confessions to make: I love pianos, most pianos; I hate digital keyboards. When mankind has spent three centuries designing and building a product that is, at once, delightful to look at, a joy to play and …
Hawks and Horses
Some glory in their birth, some in their skill, Some in their wealth, some in their body's force, Some in their garments, though new-fangled ill; Some in their hawks and hounds, some in their horse; And every humour hath his adjunct pleasure, Wherein it finds a joy above the rest: But these particulars are not …
