The development and evolution of piano art Abstract: The evolution of the piano has taken three hundred years. Its art involves people's material and spiritual realm, covers the spirit of the times and popular elements, and its connotation is broad and profound. With the development of society, the piano is no longer just a musical instrument, it is a culture and a commodity, or more precisely, an industry.
Keywords: piano performance, piano art, piano industry The origin of the piano can be traced back to the Xianshi (one-stringed qin) in ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. The number of strings in the strings continued to increase, gradually forming a multi-stringed instrument. In turn, multi-stringed instruments evolved into two types of musical instruments. One is a multi-stringed instrument in which the strings are plucked with fingers to produce sounds. It was later combined with a keyboard to become a harpsichord. The other is a fortepiano in which the keys are plucked with fingers and a small hammer installed at the end of the key strikes the strings to produce sound. These two instruments are the originators of modern pianos, so they are collectively called clavichords. The modern piano was born in 1709, and its inventor was the Italian Cristofori. He was originally a harpsichord maker with rich experience in making pianos. After summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of the harpsichord, he installed a keyboard machine with hammers to strike the strings on the harpsichord, laying the foundation for the modern piano. the basis of. Because of this improvement, it makes up for the shortcomings of the fortepiano and harpsichord that the volume is almost impossible to adjust. When playing this kind of piano, the volume changes with the change of the striking force of the keys, and the volume is also higher than that of the fortepiano and harpsichord. The harpsichord is much larger. Over the next 200 years, it was continuously improved and perfected to become the modern piano we see today. The predecessor of the modern piano was only the development and leap in quality of the fortepiano in 1709. Without the "quantitative" accumulation of the development of the fortepiano, there would not have been the "qualitative" leap of the fortepiano in 1709. 1. The evolution of the piano
The piano was invented in 1709 by the Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731). The piano is similar to its predecessors such as the harpsichord, harpsichord, The fundamental difference between the harpsichord and the like is that it uses a key striking machine, so the player who is far away from the strings can use their fingers to touch the keys to control the sound quality and intensity of the vibrating strings. In this way, the piano produces unique and excellent performance. Since the birth of piano music, its unique characteristics have evolved and developed in various historical periods, making this expressive art reach a very rich and complete height and realm.
However, in fact, the entire evolution of the piano can be traced back to more than 600 years ago, that is, before the emergence of the modern piano, the piano has existed for more than 300 years. We call the piano at this stage a fortepiano. The predecessor of the modern piano is only the development and leap of the fortepiano in 1709. Without the "quantitative" accumulation of the development of the fortepiano, there would not have been the "qualitative" leap of the fortepiano in 1709.
With the continuous improvement of modern pianos and the emergence of jazz and rock music due to the fast pace of social life, the fortepiano is like a weak, slender and shy lady - it can only be reclusive in modern times. The social stage is behind the curtain. The inventor of the piano was Bartoloo Cristofori, an instrument maker from the Medici family in Florence, Italy. In 1709, he used the plucked clavichord as the prototype and made a clavichord that was called "a clavichord with strong and weak tone changes". The English name of piano is piano. Piano is Italian and its original meaning is "weak". The opposite is forte, which is also Italian and means "strong". The long name of "a newly invented harp key that can play strong and weak" (arpicembalo dinuova invention, chela piano eil forte) was later abbreviated to "pianoforte". It took about a century before it was completely simplified to today's piano. (piano). Christopher's mechanical device on the piano that uses hammers to strike the strings to produce sounds, instead of the past mechanical device of harpsichords that used animal quills to pluck the strings to produce sounds, thus making the sound more expressive and richer in sound levels. , and can control the sound changes directly by touching the keys with your fingers.
The German organist and maker Gottfried Silbermann built Germany's first piano in 1730 based on an extremely inaccurate sketch of an Italian piano and the invention of Cristofori. Next, pianos were also made in England. Later generations made some improvements to Cristofori's piano. In 1783, 83 years after the birth of the first piano, the Englishman Broadwood invented the pedal and obtained a patent.
The piano went through many improvements during its first century. Although it was initially described as a crude machine made by boilermakers, as music evolved from the Baroque style to classicism, the rich, delicate, and sonorous piano had ascended to the throne of the "King of Instruments" in the 19th century.
In 1732, in Florence, Lodovico Giustini published the first piano work "Sonata". The piano has spread to some countries, and music specially composed for the piano has appeared. After the 1860s, the fate of the piano changed dramatically. The piano left private music salons and entered public concert halls, and many composers began to invest in the production of piano music.
For more than a century from the end of the 19th century to the present, except for the continuous exploration and improvement of the sound quality of modern pianos, people have not made major reforms to the instrument itself. The automatic piano, which was once popular in the early 20th century, was quickly eliminated by record players and tape recorders. 2. The Development of Piano Art The piano, the "king of musical instruments" with a history of hundreds of years since the 18th century, has produced many famous musicians, performers, composers and educators in its history of development. Maybe you can name a long list of their names and stories: Bach, Mozart, Czerny, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, etc. However, it is always so far away from people, mysterious and unattainable.
(1) Piano music in the Baroque period
Baroque (Baroque) comes from French. The Baroque period of music is roughly from 1600 to 1750, that is, starting from Monteverdi to Until Bach and Handel, the harpsichord at that time had two different types of keyboard instruments: one was the clavichord (Clavicode), and the other was the harpsichord (Cravitzin). There were several forms of early harpsichords, including the triangle harpsichord and the wing-shaped one, which was called a clavichord. Judging from the pronunciation, the tone was strong and monotonous. It was generally used in concerts or as accompaniment in orchestras. At that time, Most of the music was composed for "Kravitzin". In the mid-18th century, after the status of the piano was gradually established, the roles of the above two instruments became increasingly smaller. The first to create an independent new style of piano were the British fortepianists William Baird (1543-1623) and John Bull (1563-1628). They created a series of music with a strong flavor of life. The creative genres are mainly folk songs and dances, and the styles are mostly lively and bright. At the same time, they also successfully created a series of texture techniques and established the unique musical vocabulary of the fortepiano. (2) Classical music in the second half of the 18th century
In the second half of the 18th century, while the art of opera developed, the genres of classical symphony and sonata were also established. It was Vienna's music that pushed music to its peak. The classical music school, which also includes the development of the piano.
The piano music of this period was clear, optimistic, full of poetic and warm sentiment, and its representatives were Haydn and Mozart.
(3) Romantic music in the first half of the 19th century
The piano music of this period was elegant in style, pursuing harmony and balance in technique, with delicate musical colors, elegant taste, and rich Humor, represented by Chopin.
The creator of the piano is indeed the spirit of all things! The performers are also worthy of admiration. A five-life machine made of steel and iron, a golden voice sang under their fingertips. We praise the piano because this machine-like object can express and convey people's voices in various tunes and styles. This is the beginning and end of piano culture. The piano exists for piano music and because of piano music.
In the second half of the 20th century, the piano encountered a strong rival of the keyboard instrument - the electronic keyboard. The electronic keyboard opened up a vast musical space, but all of this was controlled by mechanical devices rather than the player's fingers. Touch to bring about change. Although the performer's labor has been greatly liberated, musical instruments and humans are in the most indirect state, and it is difficult for humans to express their inner emotions directly through the electronic keyboard. The emergence of the electronic keyboard is like a mutated freak of the piano culture, which is similar to the fast food culture of modern society, simple but boring. To a truly musical ear, that is not piano music in the true sense, there is no heart, no emotion, no popularity. The piano still stands at the forefront of piano culture with its high status as the "King of Music", bringing us a feast of piano music.
No matter which period, that style of piano music allows people to enjoy the connotation of piano culture, is closely connected with the era in which it is located, and has a certain national color and spirit of the times. The development history of piano music can also be regarded as a changing process of the world era. Einstein once said; "There is only one real world, but imagination can create thousands of worlds." Piano music can create thousands of musical worlds. This suggestive color guides people into a higher level of music. my country's piano art mainly consists of four aspects: work creation, performance skills, theoretical research and education. In the long-term exchange of Chinese and Western music culture, it has gone through stages of acceptance, learning, reference and innovation. Especially after the founding of the People's Republic of China, my country's piano art has developed rapidly. It has created more than hundreds of outstanding works and nearly 60 people have won awards in various levels of international composition and performance competitions. Thousands of papers have been published in academic journals at all levels. He has published more than 9 articles and 9 theoretical works. Professional colleges have grown from a few before the founding of the People's Republic of China to hundreds now (including music departments of comprehensive universities), and have achieved brilliant achievements that have attracted the attention of the world.
3. Piano Industry
In the 18th century, the piano was just a product of the handicraft industry. Craftsmen tried their best to use their imagination of music and embody their perfection of handicrafts. change. But by the 19th century, piano had become a big industry and business. In 1827, Pleyel in Paris hired 30 workers to produce 100 pianos. After a few years, the growth rate of production volume had reached 900%. In other words, in the middle of the 19th century, the piano manufacturing industry had developed into a huge business activity, and thus there was fierce competition in this industry.
In the 1870s, the piano market continued to expand, especially in the United States, where people buying pianos came almost like a raging flood. The sales volume of Weber pianos is like the growth rate of tax revenue, increasing at a rate of 368%. After pianos became a huge industry, various piano manufacturers sprang up. Famous piano brands at that time included: Baldwin, Bechstein, Bosendorfer, Brodwood, Chickering, etc. These brand merchants, like other industries in the market, competed with each other to win more buyers. The pianos it manufactures also have their own characteristics and advantages.
From the birth of the piano to 1850, the piano was only a high-end luxury product. The output at that time was not large, but the profit was not small. The price at that time required a skilled worker to pay It was equivalent to his annual income before he could afford it. And after the middle of the nineteenth century. The surge in piano production reflected the demand of the cultural market to a certain extent. In 1894, the price of pianos was only half of what it was in 1850. At that time, it was the golden age of Western piano consumption, and the output at the same time was also at a very high point (Figure 2) in the 1920s. Due to the impact of the automatic piano and phonograph, the share of pianos plummeted. From 1927 to 1932, the annual output of the United States dropped from 250,000 units to 25,000 units, and the United Kingdom also reduced its production by two-thirds at this time. But at this time, piano manufacturers would not be idle. "Country women playing the piano" became a driving force to stimulate American piano production, just like various advertisements that appear in modern society to sell products. In this way, we can also regard piano masters such as Liszt as "piano promoters."
The piano manufacturing industry is booming in the market wave, accompanied by ups and downs in price and output, but it is still "thriving" in today's society. Along with piano manufacturing, the development of the piano market has also led to the development of some related industries, such as publishers. Due to the increasing number of piano learners and the emergence of a large number of piano teaching materials, batches of piano teaching books have Publishing, and this will inevitably lead to the development of the labor printing industry, and the number of piano teachers is also increasing day by day, including the emergence of piano tuners.
Piano playing in today’s society is fundamentally entertainment (referring to piano activities in the public concept). It is a complex phenomenon integrating educational investment, social fashion and economic value.
Although there is a great lack of wisdom, imagination and personality in such activities, it has indeed become a huge industry and market. A highly entertaining activity is the "Battle of Two Pianos", the earliest "Battle of Two Pianos" The "Battle of the Two Pianos" dates back to the late 16th century. In 1836, Liszt and Thalberg had a "contest". Both wanted to win the title of the strongest pianist in Europe through the "competition". Piano grading examinations and various piano competitions in modern society are also the continuation and continuation of this form, and they are becoming more and more popular. In the past ten years, the piano industry has experienced a "roller coaster" turmoil.
Mason-Hamlin cautiously summarized the past of the piano industry: "For the piano industry, the past ten years have been a turbulent decade. The entire industry has been on a roller coaster. Suddenly, High and low, fast and slow. Overall, the piano industry's sales performance has declined in this decade, and the way the entire industry operates has also changed a lot." Pianos and pianos. Music brings a different musical world to mankind and a colorful spiritual enjoyment. The piano is like a superstar, always active on the stage of human society to show its splendor!
References:
[1] Piano Art (the second half of the bound volume) [M] Beijing: People's Music Publishing House, 2006.
Xin Fengnian, three hundred years of piano culture[M]. Xi'an: Shaanxi Normal University Press, 1995.
Human Music[M] Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House, 2004.
Mainland Music Dictionary[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1999.
I picked this up when we were about to write a paper. There are some changes. You can use it for reference. I hope it will be helpful to you