Fortepiano vs. Modern Piano
The sound world of Mozart and Beethoven’s era was much different than today. So, why does it sound so different?
What we now call a concert grand piano took its familiar form in the 1880s, so Mozart and Beethoven never heard anything like it in their lifetimes. They wrote piano music for their specific instrument and sound world: the fortepiano.
So, let’s compare three aspects of this Classical-era fortepiano with a modern piano. Understanding these differences in sound creation, sound qualities, and tuning can inform your interpretations on the modern piano.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
SOUND CREATION
Fortepiano hammers are small and covered with leather, creating a clear, direct sound like a xylophone. Modern piano hammers are covered in thick felt to create a very broad, resonant sound like a handbell.
Fortepianos also feature a quick decay — as soon as I play, the sound begins to decay. Modern pianos have a very long decay.
The most famous example is the opening chord of Beethoven’s ‘Pathetique’ Sonata. Carl Czerny, a student of Beethoven, wrote that Beethoven let the opening chord fade to piano before continuing — a dramatic effect facilitated by the fortepiano’s quick decay.
Modern pianists can try to imitate the fortepiano’s quick decay here, but it’s not a perfect solution. Play the chord, then release the keys while sustaining with the pedal. Then, slowly release the pedal to hint at a quicker decay.
Knowing about these differences in sound creation also helps modern pianists understand why Classical-era composers wrote the very detailed articulation markings that are sometimes difficult to make musical sense of on modern pianos.
For example, in the opening bars of Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 570, the fortepiano can play the articulations as marked — shaping the gestures — because the fortepiano’s construction allows for speech-like articulation. Modern pianists often connect the notes under one long slur because the piano naturally encourages a sustained and legato approach.
SOUND QUALITIES
Due to its straight-stringing and lightweight construction, fortepiano sound is also much lighter and more transparent than modern pianos. Classical-era piano music is built around these qualities.
This is particularly evident in Alberti-bass accompaniments. On modern pianos, Alberti bass passages can quickly become thick and heavy. To compensate, modern pianists are often taught to use various voicing techniques and to play the accompaniment at a much lower dynamic level than the melody. On the fortepiano, a natural balance is more readily maintained.
The modern piano was designed to project in big spaces. Throughout the 19th century, pianos evolved to get bigger, louder, and brighter so the sound could fill large concert halls.
Loudness was not an aesthetic goal for piano music in Classical era Vienna because many concerts were held in smaller performance spaces, such as salons.
The fortepiano’s more intimate sound qualities are heightened by using the moderator — which does not exist on modern pianos. Engaging the left knee pedal inserts a layer of felt in between the hammers and strings, creating a muted, ephemeral effect.
As with the right pedal on modern pianos, the right knee lever on my fortepiano lifts the dampers. Due to the natural lightness and transparency of the fortepiano, one can lift the dampers for extended passages and let the sound blur through harmonic dissonances.
Beethoven asks for this in the opening of the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata, writing: This whole piece must be played very delicately and without dampers” — directions that are completely viable on the fortepiano. Modern pianists often question this because lifting the dampers for extended passages can sound muddy, so they are taught to consistently change the pedal.
TUNING
Ever wondered why composers even bothered to write in different keys?
Fortepianos were not tuned in today’s equal temperament. They were tuned in unequal temperaments that created a vast range of harmonic colors, known as key characteristics.
These key characteristics were a fundamental part of their musical language and heavily influenced the keys that Classical era composers chose.
My fortepiano is tuned in an unequal temperament — Kirnberger III at A432. Modern pianos are almost always tuned in equal temperament at A440.
Pitch level is only a small part of the difference. The biggest difference is in how the various intervals relate to each other in an unequal vs. equal temperament.
In the second movement of Mozart’s F Major sonata, K. 533, the dramatic effect that unequal temperament has on this dissonant and chromatic passage is striking. In equal temperament, the effect is largely smoothed out.
Knowing about these tuning differences can influence the way modern pianists approach interpretational decisions.
My Historical Tuning video goes deeper.
CONCLUSION
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert are standards in the repertoire, but few people understand how deeply fortepianos impacted their masterpieces.
Check out Fortepiano 101 to continue your fortepiano exploration.