What do Mozart and I have in common? At first blush, you might suggest, “Both of you like Mozart’s music,” not adding that, “and it ends there.” Yet, there is common ground. The Answer is that ... Mozart and I are both “techies.” It all began in 1698. After hundreds of attempts by dozens of craftsmen, the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori* finally solved all the problems inherent in making a harpsichord with hammers , the Piano Forte. While it is unimportant just what the problems were, the result was the creation of a new instrument with a dynamic range that completely eclipsed the harpsichord. The new sound excited the public; the powerful and rich Medici listed one of Christofori’s instruments in a 1700 inventory of instruments. Here was a powerful new tool, hardly touched by new composition. Techniques and rules of composition for it did not exist. The first explorers with the new technology, which included Mozart, would have a great impact. In the beginning, th
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