The fortepiano, or early hammer-action piano, is a historical type of piano of the 18th and early 19th centuries, the direct predecessor of the modern instrument. It was precisely the invention of the hammer mechanism (Bartolomeo Cristofori, c. 1700) that made it possible to play both loud (forte) and soft (piano) depending on the force of the touch — hence the name “pianoforte.”
Compared with the modern grand, the fortepiano is lighter, has a wooden frame, and a quieter, more transparent sound with a fast decay and vivid differences between registers. It was precisely for it that Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven created their music. With the revival of authentic performance, musicians have returned to the fortepiano to hear the Classical sonatas and concertos as contemporaries heard them — with an inimitable clarity, lightness, and chamber intimacy of sound.
