Overview

The eighteenth century opened at the pinnacle of achievement for the master craftsmen of Western musical instruments. Fine string and keyboard instruments were produced by hand in small workshops using traditional methods and materials. In response to the changing desires of musicians and audiences and in keeping with the century's widespread interest in mechanical contrivances, these skilled artisans continued to innovate instrument design, leading to the invention and perfection of perhaps the most important instrument in the history of music, the piano.

Background

Through the seventeenth century, an assortment of keyboard instruments were in use throughout Europe. One of the most popular, the harpsichord, featured keys that plucked strings as the player pressed them; a rival for its dominance, especially in Germany, was the clavichord. The clavichord was similar in range to the harpsichord, but it used small hammers...