Our strong desire for knowledge and musical honesty
makes us go back to the fortepiano.
—Discoveries
from the Fortepiano (Oxford
University Press. 2015), 1.
As the sap returns to the
tree for rest and renewal, the leaves announce the Fall with glorious hues of
red, gold, and burnt orange. We know that Winter rapidly approaches as each day
steals minutes of sunlight and turns them over to the night; all part of the
necessary process for new birth in the Spring. Likewise, Winter provides musicians
the opportunity to rest, reflect, and renew.
Where would we like to be musically by Spring? What unanswered questions
can be wrestled with in the darkness of Winter? And what discoveries can be
unearthed to bring new life to our playing?
The desire to know where we
are headed can only come through the path of where we have been. Wrestling with
the questions surrounding performing Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart on the modern
piano are best answered by looking back to the fortepiano. By better understanding
the instrument and sound that inspired these masters we can come closer to a
newly inspired sound. We can honor the past and create new art in the present.
Glancing back at the
Classical Era Style we find an instrument distinctly different from today’s
instrument. From the inside out everything is “different.”
When
comparing the overall characteristics of the fortepiano [eighteenth century
Viennese five-octave fortepiano] and the modern piano, we find that the
differences are considerable. The fortepiano’s prevailing quality is its
ability to be played with finesse. Everything on the fortepiano is literally
and aesthetically lighter and more responsive than the modern piano.
—Discoveries from the
Fortepiano (Oxford University Press. 2015), 17.
Everything from string size
and make-up, key dimensions, and responsiveness, to range, decay, and tone
quality are distinctively different on the fortepiano.
Follow the link to view a
comparison table between modern and fortepiano characteristics:
But the real take-away is the
different sound aesthetic that is unleashed when one encounters the sound of
the fortepiano. The same score takes on
an entirely new character when realized on the instrument for which it was
intended. Although this sound cannot be
duplicated on the modern piano, awareness of the sound can influence our approach
and aesthetic goal.
Follow the links to compare audio traits of fortepiano and influenced modern piano rendition of the opening
bars of Moonlight Sonata
You are now invited into
Winter to reflect and renew. Dig into Discoveries from the Fortepiano to learn
how looking back and unearthing these informational gems can open a musical path
for you to welcome the new Spring of your own aesthetic.
