1) Origins

Bartolomeo Cristofori (Italy, 1655-1731) was unsatisfied by the lack of control over the harpsichord’s volume level and his changes laid out what came to be the modern piano. This native of Padua in Italy had been appointed in 1688 to the Florentine court of Grand Prince Ferdinando de Medici to care for its harpsichords and eventually for its entire collection of musical instruments.

2) Famous Pianists

Did you know Glenn Gould is arguably the most famous piano player of the 20th century? The Canadian classical pianist was one of the best known and most celebrated pianists of the 1900's. He came to be renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Gould's playing was distinguished by a remarkable technical proficiency and a capacity to articulate the contrapuntal texture of Bach's music.

3) Worldwide

There is a vast number of cultures playing the piano. People have played piano under water, in the great wall of China, and even at the Sahara desert. In 2013, a video was published featuring Utah pianist Jon Schmidt and cellist Steven Sharp Nelson on the Great Wall of China performing "Oogway Ascends" from the "Kung Fu Panda" soundtrack.

4) Complexity

The most complex song can arguably be Paganini’s La Campanella, which is famous for being one of the most difficult pieces ever written for piano.

5) Popularity

Probably the most well known song is Beethoven’s 'Moonlight' Sonata. We can say it is arguably the most famous piece ever written for piano.

Check it out! We have Moonlight Sonata sheet music here