History of the Piano

[Bill Kibby]

Phew! There is no short answer to all those questions, but yes, Cristofori did invent the "gravicembalo (harpsichord) col piano e forte" around 1707, and it was first documented in 1709. You say "so many different stories" so I presume you are talking about all the rubbish on the internet, even on sites which appear to be authentic, whereas piano textbooks are almost entirely agreed about what is true, so many of your answers lie there - in a library! Spinet and Virginals are types of Harpsichord, but there are differing uses of the term Cembalo. They don't have tangents, that's a clavichord. Press www or email me.

[Barrie Heaton]

The Smithsonian believe he produced his first piano in 1700 and was working on the idea in 1697 and by 1709 when the article by Scipione Maffei was published he had made 4 and his first attempts could have been as early as 1700

Barrie,

[Bill Kibby]

Yes, his "Arpicembalo" was listed among the instruments in 1698, it is believed to have had hammers, dampers and expressive touch, but was perhaps different in some way.