Bartolomeo Cristofori

Bartolomeo Cristofori was an italian harpsichord maker generally credited with the invention of the piano, called in his time gravicembalo col piano e forte, or “harpsichord that plays soft and loud.” Little is known of Cristofori’s life, and his invention was not well known in his lifetime. Cristofori apparently invented the piano about 1709, and, according to contemporary sources, four of his pianos existed in 1711. Cristofori’s design was largely ignored in Italy, but it soon became known and adopted in Germany through articles in dictionaries of music.