Who Invented Piano?

The piano was invented by the Italian instrumental maker, Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731). By 1700, he had completed his first keyboard instrument with the hammer action. The instrument was first named “gravicembalo col piano e forte” (harpsichord with soft and loud), and it still resembles a harpsichord through its shape, size, etc., but the mechanism is completely different. While the harpsichord produces sound by plucking the strings with plectra, the piano produces sound by striking the strings with the hammer. This hammer action can create more varieties of loudness and sensitivity, even just playing one single key.The name was shortened to “Fortepiano,” and now it commonly called “Piano.” The oldest surviving fortepiano by Cristofori (1720) is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 

The oldest surviving forte piano made by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1720, Florence) — Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.