1655-1732

Bartolomeo Cristofori, a young musical inventor, attempts to create an instrument than can do "pianissimo" sounds that are light and soft, as well as "forte" sounds, that are strong and loud. When Prince Ferdinando de Medici invites him to his court in Florence, Bartolomeo sees and hears goldsmiths' tiny hammers and blacksmiths' big sledgehammers making both sounds and realizes hammers are the key to a new, beautiful instrument. Includes a timeline, notes on today's piano, and links to piano selections online.

The story of Bartolomeo Cristofori, the Italian harpsichord maker who invented the piano while working in the city of Florence about three hundred years ago.

Presents an introduction to the piano, in simple text with illustrations, explaining the invention of the piano in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori in the late seventeenth century and describing the other events that were occurring around the world at the same time.