The genealogy of the piano

The invention of the piano (pianoforte) by the Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori around the turn of the 18th century began a new age of development in the history of music. Parallel with its invention, we can chart the development of playing techniques suited to this new instrument. Thus were born into the world a great variety of piano-playing schools in the course of time branched out and evolved creatively in ways that could not have been foreseen by its Paduan inventor.

This work presents the history, development and characteristics of these schools, with their varied playing styles and techniques, through the great pianists and legendary teachers from Mozart, Clementi, and Beethoven, through Czerny, Liszt, Thalberg, Leschetizky, Anton Rubinstein, Chopin...until our own time.

In this book, we follow the genealogy of these great performers and maestros in an excursion through time and place, from the piano’s invention in Padua, identifying the oustanding characteristics of the diferent schools of piano playing and the personalities that formed them – ad gave them life. Master and disciple, inspiration and continuation, innovation and technical mastery are seen in the great musical drama that fluorished and still flourishes on the centuries – old genalogical tree of the art and science of piano playing.

This is not an encylopedia of pianists but a study of the trends and accomplishments of the many piano playing schools, their traditions, philosophies, and approaches, interowen with the music they interpreted and helped to create.

The CD that accompanies this book makes its contents come alive with excerpts for solo piano and piano-with-orchestra of great works by Bach, Scarlatti, Clementi, Beethoven, Field, Schumann-Liszt, Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. These high-quality performances were recorded by the pianist Licia Lucas in well-known concert halls with prestigious orchestras.