The First Piano Piece (on the Oldest Piano)

[@eenayeah]

I love how this video did not waste time and just immediately started with the piece

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

That's what I try to do.

[@juliusnepos6013]

It is great

[@Horatio_on_the_Beat]

hahahaha

[@cadriver2570]

It sounds like the beginning and end were both clipped.

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

@@cadriver2570 Because it was.

[@treeprophet4812]

300 years old and still a banger

[@thelookingcat]

IKR

[@smasher420]

lol

[@tuvoca825]

Who?

[@timothydewa9096]

It's seems like first generation piano-forte has lighter touch than modern uprights and grands, I could see it from hearing how crisps the sound of notes-playing.

[@terranbricklin]

Not only that, but is it just me or does this first generation piano change color much more drastically as you change dynamics? piano vs mezzo forte had a distinctly different feel to it.

[@e.d.1642]

I mean yeah there are like 3 distinct types of historical pianos kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqamdKqVndJ8gqM

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

@@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo Apples and oranges can be compared.

[@pavaomrazek]

The sound is crispier because the hammers are made of leather, unlike modern pianos which have hammers made of wool felt. But yes, it also has lighter touch than modern pianos.

[@estebanod]

​@@Leo_ofRedKeep No.. you compare oranges with other agrumes.. it’s like comparing a violin with a saxophone, ofc they’re different.

[@captainmilkman]

I love the sound of this piano even more than modern pianos. I wish they still sounded like this

[@gregmonks]

You should maybe look for recordings of straight-strung pianos.

[@someguystudios23]

Bro was born in the wrong generation

[@neo9560]

They still make pianos like this thankfully the modern piano was invited not that this sounds bad but very limited

[@captainmilkman]

@@neo9560 Yeah, I guess Debussy would sound kinda twangy lol. More of a novelty item

[@TeeterTuckin]

@@captainmilkmanDebussy, you say? 😳

[@bobblowhard8823]

I would say it's the first piano piece that we have record of. I imagine that there may have been more before this piece but we have no record of those, or have not discovered them yet. Still, a beautiful and historical piece.

[@chrisbullPiano]

I agree, I think the music is too complex to be the first ever piano piece. Surely the first one ever would be alot simpler.

[@youtune2819]

Before this people (bach and alot more) already wrote very complicated and beautiful music for harpsichord. It could be that this was one of the first pieces written for FortePiano (this instrument) where the (experienced) composer for the first time experimented with dynamics (bc thats not or barely possible on haprsichord), but has a very complicated piece either way.

[@warrencohen8246]

The set of Giustini pieces from which this is taken were definitely the first published pieces to specifically say that they were written for the then new fortepiano. There are indications of dynamics that would only be possible on a clavichord or piano, but the style of these pieces definitely suggests the piano (besides the fact that it says so on the actual printed music)

[@sherifelwan5145]

Strange how the piece is scored in B flat major, yet sounds in Ga flat major, very strange tuning. The piece itself is quite exquisite, it has a graceful Scarlattian sound

[@utvpoop]

It's scored in F major since there's only one flat

[@sherifelwan5145]

@@utvpoop I agree, but that makes it all the more strange, because although there's only 1 flat, the home key is the B (or B flat) note

[@AlexanderBulatoff]

@@sherifelwan5145 вероятно, в то время тональность ещё не сформировалась окончательно и композиторы мыслили в модальной логике. Подобный пример можно найти и у Баха в Каприччио на отъезд любимого брата, там в третьей пьесе, написанной в фа миноре, при ключе всего три бемоля

[@asteruth7903]

@@sherifelwan5145 It doesn't make any sense at all. If you're going to call F major a Bb major, then does that make G major a F# major?

[@sherifelwan5145]

@@AlexanderBulatoff Sounds quite logical to me, thanks a lot

[@paperplate09]

Wow that’s crazy how cool that sounds

[@theophilos0910]

Cristofori’s ‘gravi-cembalo col piano e forte’ (‘gravity harpsichord with soft & loud’) was thought to have been first invented c. 1704-but apparently by 1732 when the first forte-piano sonatas were publish’d there must have been hundreds of these ever-improving klaviers throughout Europe - apparently the ‘escapement’ mechanism on the hammers was not commonly added by Klavier builders until around 1770-so the player could hold down any key with his fingers & the sound would still ‘ring’-otherwise the sound would be more akin to the clavichord’s infamous ‘thump’ - despite its comparatively primitive construction the Cristofori forte-piano has a distinctly charming & intimate sound more suited to the salon than a concert hall …

[@davidmdyer838]

Pianos had an escapement from the beginning, they didn't just thud. What was later added was the double escapement which made repeating notes better, you didn't have to let the key all the way up to repeat it.

[@theophilos0910]

@@davidmdyer838 - I was thinking about the letter M. wrote to his father from Augsburg on 17 October 1777 about Stein’s new designs for the forte-piano : ‘I always had preferr’d Spaeth’s klaviers at Regensburg before I came across Stein’s newest klaviers at Augsburg whose dampers are quite superior to the Regensburg models…what sets Stein’s instruments apart from all others is that they come equipp’d with an escapement mechanism which less that 1% of to-day’s Klavier-builders bother to take the trouble to design and build them into their instruments - and without this escapement feature the sound of the instrument becomes ‘like a thump’ or sometimes ‘has a distinctly klangy’ after-effect - With Stein’s careful design, when the player presses down on the keys the little hammers fall back into place the instant the note is struck - no matter whether the player holds the keys down or releases them…’ Who knows but that the Klavier-instruments built in late 18th century Bavaria were representative of other parts of Europe - but M. seems to be saying to his father (who was thinking of opening up a Klavier shoppe out of his large house ‘der Tanzmeistersaal’ (purchased in October 1773) - that the ‘escapement’ mechanism is very rarely included in the forte-pianos of his day & that it is an essential feature for Klavier players to have… I suppose one would probably have to examine what ‘primitive escapement mechanism’ existed around the time of Cristofori…

[@davidmdyer838]

@@theophilos0910 It sounds like he's talking about the double escapement in which the escapement resets after the note plays even if the key doesn't come all the way up. This doesn't happen on uprights. It sounds like M. is talking about something similar but the officla double escapement wasn't invented until 1800. But pianos had some kind of escapement from the beginning, the hammer never staying in contact with the string.

[@iamstillthinking]

Such a beautiful tune

[@angellohector]

Composer: I've just written the first ever piano piece. I grade it...grade 6 Me in 2023: Ah man!

[@camtaylormusic]

Sounds like the obvious evolution of the clavichord. Beautifully dynamic and expressive, with a fine control over timbre and articulation.

[@ezequielstepanenko3229]

that sounds like a guitar a bass and a mandolin

[@bowlerrollercoaster]

I also love how it is in a mean tone temperament instead of equal temperament!!!

[@MorganBallardWheeler]

Well temperament is equal temperament. Do you mean just intonation?

[@bowlerrollercoaster]

@@MorganBallardWheeler I meant mean tone oops

[@dbadagna]

@@MorganBallardWheeler "Well temperaments" (such as Vallotti or Young) are not the same as 12-tone equal temperament, although they might sound close to 12-tone equal temperament.

[@MorganBallardWheeler]

@@dbadagna Good point. Thank you.

[@LLV-h7h]

Красивая музыка, свободное и выразительное исполнение, спасибо!

[@davidseymour6246]

Love the shaped quaver-beaming (1/8 note-beaming). That really adds to the readability; I wonder why that was dropped.

[@BradConroy_guitar]

Very beautiful, interesting, and incredible performance.

[@trashpanda9160]

The first piano piece was definitely a crumbled up piece of paper that has scribbles over the entire thing.

[@wlkr72291]

Very beautiful

[@anigiuran109]

Lovely piano music !😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@matthewcole4753]

You may see this piano at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City! An amazing musical instrument collection that includes this, Stradivarius violins, and elaborately decorated guitars, among other things.

[@swausgebouwen143]

really its the most perfect piece to have as a first piano song

[@minhnguyentien912]

The opening piece for a chapter of the music history: "The greatest instrument"

[@SergioCarinoMMIX]

WERE MAKING BANGERS WITH THIS ONE 🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@AriannaCunningham]

This piano sounds very nice. Almost in between the sound of a harpsichord and a forte piano.

[@leonardog4529]

Holy cow, the piano was around quite earlier (50 years) than I thought. Great video!

[@SonicPhonic]

Wow! Thanks so much! I can never get the dates right about when the Piano was invented, but this video makes it neat, tidy and clear.

[@southernhawkstudios]

Quite phenomenal. Italians for the win ❤

[@M_m.aang.uxz.1902]

Beautiful

[@imploud]

Very interesting. Thank you for posting this.

[@TSTBand]

That was beautiful! the oldest piano sounds more like an harpsichord than a modern piano 🙂

[@r.twins.gamers]

It sounds Beautiful!!!!!!!

[@someonerandomhere]

Often videos take too long to start, but you kind of did the opposite xD and I appreciate it

[@fatherclarencejones2733]

Very interesting, great upbeat tune, thanks.

[@Tarkus_H]

I like how what would be modernly considered a Swing 4/4 was written back then as a 12/8 because syncopation is the DEVIL.

[@bluefoget315]

They did NOT need to go this hard for the first piano piece 💀💀💀

[@nsbd90now]

Yeah... it rocks!

[@gregmonks]

Straight-strung pianos are variable throughout their range sound-wise. I have the harp out of one that I've always been tempted to utilise.

[@albertocavalcanti8083]

Isso ainda parece um cravo

[@Commentsofthemonth]

Loved it

[@debug8377]

i guess we can all agree that cristofori made the *key* to classical music

[@yoverale]

Que belleza! La tengo que tocaaar 😍🥰

[@jonj1163]

It's funny how it sounds like half way between a harpsichord and a modern piano.

[@julianhallola]

Actually quite a banger!

[@avecesar4244]

The pianoforte was invented after the harpsichord technique. The sound is obviously similar.

[@zhihuangxu6551]

When I see 1732 I immediately notice sqrt(3)

[@musiclover148]

Funny how the first pianos sounded a lot like harpsichords!

[@fnersch3367]

Not at all. Cristofori (curator to Ferdinand Medici) was trying to improve the harpsichord and in the process, by accident, invented the piano. He called his instrument "gravicembalo col pian e fort". Gravicembalo means "large harpsichord" in Italian.

[@matthewc2207]

@@fnersch3367 but that's not saying that the first piano did sound like harpsichords. its js explaining how they were made

[@e.d.1642]

@@fnersch3367 You're just adding one more argument as to whether it sounds like a harpsichord or not

[@wednesdeity]

@@e.d.1642 But if it was supposed to be a harpsichord improvement why wouldn't it sound like a harpsichord

[@syxalite]

​@@e.d.1642 There is no absolute truth to that. I also find the sound somewhat close to the harpsichord's one

[@soundknight]

This is amazing, I want more!

[@dilipaweeratunga]

They were meant to sound like harpsichords but with dynamical abilities

[@DanielFerreira-ep6dq]

Amazing

[@nivis8036]

It's kind of fire

[@950name]

can someone tell me why they stopped using modes for key signatures and also why the stams are now always straight?

[@estebanod]

The key signature is pretty much the same though? It just has one b, which is always S

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

Because just like genus in music, there is no one standard definition of modes. Modes differ substantially between music theorists despite sharing the same name...

[@debrucey]

@@estebanod Yeh except the piece isn't in the key of F, its in the key of B-flat. Modern key signature conventions wern't established back then

[@jessevallejo8797]

The stams were not always straight because some of them were gay & others non binary.

[@syxalite]

​@@jessevallejo8797 straight? Non-binary? Right. Totally the same subject

[@lilianarivera3130]

Very good!

[@mellowords]

0:30 that final 1 major chord sounds siiick. Im guessing this is just temperament? Also odd how the music is written in the key of F, the piece is clearly in B-flat, and the sounding pitch is basically an entire major third lower than written (way beyond baroque A=420 or whatever). Lot of strangeness going on here. Extremely cool. The pianist was really excellent!

[@maxorido3949]

Better than modern piano

[@morbiusfan3176]

Your opinion is wrong and invalid and denies basic facts. It is a known and obvious fact that modern piano is objectively better and that is a fact.

[@maxorido3949]

@@morbiusfan3176 ok, but this one sounds nicer tho

[@morbiusfan3176]

@@maxorido3949 i was high when i wrote that

[@doppled]

@@morbiusfan3176 damn that was only 5 hours ago though

[@maxorido3949]

@@morbiusfan3176 understandable hope you had a safe journey

[@beartoven6116]

You could carry that on your back

[@thenotsookayguy]

Fire

[@We1Yu]

I want to see liszt played on this…

[@josephhapp9]

😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@白玉堂-o9h]

good idea🤣

[@thenotsookayguy]

The range is wayy to small to play most pieces by the dude. Thing's smaller than 5 octave pianos.

[@mist.brooke]

Slay ❤

[@lincdauer7555]

are we not mentioning how the soundboard was replaced by the met in the 30s? most experts consider this piano no longer in any way representational of its original sound.

[@Noob64]

does anyone know where I can find sheet music for this?

[@darknightfawkes1028]

I can hear the folk in this music

[@patrickspiano]

0:31 is my favorite part

[@AltoonaYourPiano]

It's kind of ironic how Cristofori wouldn't recognize a modern piano at first as being his invention since it sounds nothing like his modified harpsichord.

[@schil_d]

The First piano piece Is the "gigue from sonata no. 6"

[@hashdankhog8578]

thats what he is playing

[@ArdaRen]

I would be curious to see the inner mechanism

[@classicgameplay10]

Wonderfull sonata, is there more from this composer ?

[@marinadela1361]

Harpsichord with dynamics haha

[@白玉堂-o9h]

I somehow felt a little of mozart in there

[@kchrules775]

Only 1700’s kids remember

[@pedrobraga6633]

strangely mozartzian sound

[@lost4889]

yeah i wouldve believed it if someone said early mozart

[@Franz_Liszt_Korean]

Bach sound

[@avivdor1454]

Not really, more Italian Baroque. Reminds of some of J.S. Bach, which imitated the Italian style often.

[@Alix777.]

Sounds absolutely not like Mozart more like Sammartini

[@Franz_Liszt_Korean]

@@avivdor1454 Right

[@Discrimination_is_not_a_right]

Makes me wonder what the piano sounded like when it was new.

[@ThePhreakass]

It is documented that it sounded more like a guitar

[@Discrimination_is_not_a_right]

@@ThePhreakass Not what I meant.

[@ThePhreakass]

@@Discrimination_is_not_a_right Then tell me

[@Discrimination_is_not_a_right]

@@ThePhreakass Compared to now. How did it sound compared to now.

[@ThePhreakass]

@@Discrimination_is_not_a_right Like a guitar

[@Franz_Liszt_Korean]

Bach sound

[@demertzis2694]

Only a little

[@gonnfishy2987]

Hmmmz the hammers sound like they’re not paddded and the strings reminiscent of harp wire. Jmo

[@Vextrove]

Didn't Bach improvise and write down a ricercare in three voices before this piece? Or dod this composition come first?

[@MalkerHD]

First piano piece: sonata no. 6...

[@kofiLjunggren]

In what way is this the first piece for piano?

[@Nooticus]

It’s probably not lol

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

@@Nooticus It's a sonata movement by Ludovico Giustini, with specific directions for piano and forte, which you can see in the sheet music. It's probably not actually the first piece, but it's a piece from the first set of piano compositions we know of.

[@gregoryborton6598]

@@thekeyoflifepiano Such directions would be used on harpsichord too, usually indicating using either a single or coupled stop (single for piano, coupled for forte- more strings means more volume, obviously)- so that's not necessarily and indication it was meant for piano. The fact is a lot of composers in this time period really weren't thinking about the exact instrument their keyboard piece would be played on. Clavichord, Pianoforte, Harpsichord, and more esoteric instruments like the Latuenwerk, Virgnals and Spinets would all of been acceptable for a piece like this. Especially these sonatas, which were meant for the private enjoyment of nobility, not concert work, the instrument in mind by the composer could have easily been a clavichord or a spinet as it could've been a piano. This holds really into the early 1800's. It wasn't like one day people decided all at once to go "no more harpsichords", it was a gradual process in which both the piano and harpsichord co-existed, often with the same repertoire.

[@titorosado6198]

​@@gregoryborton6598 Yes, but the set of sonatas that contains the piece in the video is called "Sonate da Cimbalo di Piano e Forte", so we can be sure it was meant for the fortepiano. Also, right now there is no knowledge of an earlier piece specifically intended for this kind of instrument

[@florianm8302]

Why do some Pianist lay their Books/Scores just straight on the piano? Does someone know a legit answer?

[@LETAYPOVSYDU]

Bortolomeo?

[@thepianoplayer416]

A piano without a music stand. Makes reading rather awkward. Not a composer you hear frequently like Bach or Handel but nonetheless a great piece.

[@vspatmx7458]

It sounds like a vertical harp put on a horizontal bed. I just realised how much more I prefer a modern Steinway from Europe

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

Totally agree. Even though I listen to performances on historical instruments to see what the composers were thinking, I ultimately prefer the modern piano.

[@le_jaivan]

Sheet score? Zenkiu!!!

[@johnsimca7093]

Giustini? It is possible Domenico Scarlatti also wrote for piano

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

Yes. The difference is that this piece has dynamic markings, so we know it was for Piano.

[@carlosguaymas6507]

Suena a clavicordio y más a Handel

[@somehow3707]

Clavecín querrás decir. El clavicordio suena más parecido a una guitarra, aunque no igual. Por si ayuda a aclararlo: Clavecín = Harpsichord (inglés) Clavicordio = Clavichord.

[@carlosguaymas6507]

@@somehow3707 Perfecto estimado. Lo denominamos así. Muchas gracias!

[@nurrasyid14_]

No.1 is BURRRRRRRRRRRR

[@RobinLSL]

What makes this the "first piano piece" compared to any other sonata by the same composer. Was it written before no.1?

[@jiminnorthdallas1227]

Does it not sound very harpsichord-ish, or is it just because of the composition?

[@-o6o]

I thought it was a harpsichord possibly

[@giacinema]

Plot twist : played by the oldest pianist in the world

[@ReedHarrison]

It sounds like a harpsichord 😂

[@tomlavelle8340]

Piano sounds kinda harpsichord y

[@bigmonkey3089]

Why did this look cgi

[@loganm2924]

But not played by the oldest pianist...

[@lordturtle6454]

You and me both know megalovania was made to be payed on that piano

[@Nicola-o6x]

Who is the author? I vote for C.Ph.E. Bach

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

Ludovico Giustini. It's in the description.

[@Nicola-o6x]

@@thekeyoflifepiano i'm Sorry... I missed It 😅

[@yuk_notkim7658]

Sounds more like Domenico Scarlatti than C.P.E Bach.

[@kliop00023]

That is sound like a harpsichord 😑

[@TheTangojorge]

qué práctico!😐

[@oaooaoipip2238]

Sounds like it's written by an AI

[@frederikkok9284]

That's why nowadays we should play these pieces on a modern piano😉

[@zordornak222]

why...?

[@carseatheadrestt]

what

[@syxalite]

Why?

[@bigeral6436]

yeah, I'm going to learn this piece