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Title The history of the pianoforte : famous or noteworthy instruments played by great artists : a documentation in sound / script and presentation, Eva Badura-Skoda ; directed by Piotr Szalsza ; produced by televisfilm in cooperation with ORF.

Publication Info. Bloomington ; Indianapolis : Indiana University Press, [2013]
©1997

Item Status

Location Call No. Status OPAC Message Public Note Gift Note
 Talbott Media  DVD 966    In Process  Ask at Circulation Desk
Description 1 videodisc (90 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
NTSC
video file DVD video
Physical Medium polychrome
Description digital
optical
System Details DVD.
Note Documentary on the history of the pianoforte.
Title from opening screen credits.
Performer Featuring pianists Paul Badura-Skoda, Malcolm Bilson, Jörg Demus, Gerlinde Otto, Hans Kann, and Rudolf Scholz ; narrator, Eva Badura-Skoda.
Credits Camera, Hans Drapal, Mieczysław Chudzik ; sound, Klaus Kovarik, Marek Slaski ; editors, Eliška Štibr, Ewa Fichtel, Miroslaw Kesiak.
Event Originally released on VHS in 1999.
Note Sheet listing instruments, repertoire, and performers featured in the documentary (2 unnumbered pages) inserted in container.
Contents The oldest extant piano by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1720) -- A compound harpsichord-piano by Giovanni Ferrini (1746) -- A square piano by Johann Socher (1742) -- A normal-sized dulcimer (date not given) -- A reconstruction of a pantaleon (date not given) -- Second example played on the pantaleon -- Pianoforte by Johann Heinrich Silbermann (date not given) -- Pianoforte by Gottfried Silbermann (1746) -- Fortepiano by Johann Andreas Stein (ca. 1784) -- Fortepiano of Johann Schantz (ca. 1790) -- Fortepiano by Anton Walter (ca. 1800) -- Demonstration of three grand pianos from the decade 1790-1800 by Johann Schantz, Anton Walter, and John Broadwood -- Demonstration of the development of the device to lift dampers, presented by Paul Badura-Skoda on pianos made by Stirnemann (1781), Johann Schantz, and John Broadwood (1795) -- Paul Badura-Skoda demonstrates the function of six typically Viennese piano pedals on a piano made by George Hasska (ca. 1818) -- Paul Badura-Skoda demonstrates the pedals of a grand piano by Conrad Graf (ca. 1825) and the split pedal of a Broadwood grand piano (1817) -- Comparisons of pianos by Johann Schantz and Anton Walter (no date given) -- Both pianists play an excerpt from Mozart's Sonata for two pianos K.448 on the same instruments (no date given) -- Comparison of pianos by Broadwood (1817) and Conrad Graf (1822/23) -- The two pianists, alternating, play from Beethoven's Sonata op. 31/2 (no date given) -- Beethoven's own piano, made by Conrad Graf (1822/23) with four strings per tone -- Concert grand by Conrad Graf (ca. 1825) -- A concert grand piano by Michael Schweighofer (ca. 1846) -- A grand piano on which Chopin played often, made by Erard (ca. 1835) -- A concert grand piano by Broadwood (1845) -- Grand piano by Ludwig Bösendorfer (1870) -- Grand piano by Steinway and Sons (ca. 1870) -- Electric pianos : The Welte-Vorsatz piano (ca. 1910) and the Ampico mechanism built into a Bösendorfer piano (ca. 1930) -- A Bösendorfer "Imperial" concert grand piano (ca. 1920) -- Comparison with a grand piano with aliquot strings by Blüthner (date not given) -- Various modern concert grand pianos by Bösendorfer, Bechstein, Steinway, and other builders (date not given) -- Demonstration of the Bösendorfer "Imperial" grand computer piano (date not given).
Summary Now music lovers can see and hear the most remarkable pianofortes from the 300-year history of this versatile instrument on DVD. From the world's oldest surviving piano (built in 1720 by Cristofori) to a new Bosendorfer computer grand, the entire family lineage is here. The painstakingly researched narrative includes some amazing discoveries, including documentation of Bach's public use of the pianoforte much earlier than commonly believed. Pianists like Paul Badura-Skoda, Malcolm Bilson, Jorg Demus, Gerlinde Otto, Hans Kannn, Rudolf Scholz, and others play more than 30 instruments, featuring works contemporaneous with the pianos. We can now hear Domenico Scarlatti played on an Italian compound harpsichord-piano of his day and listen to a Mozart piece played on a J.A. Stein piano and on an Anton Walter Hammerflugel with a pedalboard, like the one Mozart owned. Follow the evolution of the piano in Beethoven's career and learn the surprising possibilities of his own customized Graf (recently rediscovered) with its drum and bell effects. Later, enjoy a Chopin étude performed on an Erard grand that Chopin often played in Paris. The timbres of several historic pianos, often compared in books, are now given side-by-side comparisons in the studio. The film is rounded out with a survey of more recent trends and innovations, a visit with Henry Steinway, and a look at a "prepared piano" -- with the appropriate safety gear, of course. Simultaneously entertaining, amusing, informative, and artistically gratifying, The History of the Pianoforte is a landmark. - Container.
More than thirty instruments are played, featuring musical works contemporaneous with the pianos.
Subject Piano -- History.
Piano.
History.
Piano -- Construction.
Piano -- Construction.
Piano music.
Piano music.
Genre/Form Piano music.
Documentary films.
Documentary films.
Nonfiction films.
Nonfiction films.
History.
Video recordings.
Video recordings.
Added Author Badura-Skoda, Eva, screenwriter, narrator.
Szalsza, Piotr, director.
Badura-Skoda, Paul, performer.
Bilson, Malcolm, performer.
Demus, Jörg, 1928-2019, performer.
Otto, Gerlinde, performer.
Kann, Hans, performer.
Scholz, Rudolf, 1933-2012, performer.
Chudzik, Mieczysław, recordist.
Drapal, Hannes, recordist.
Kovarik, Klaus, recordist.
Slaski, Marek, recordist.
Štibr, Eliška, editor of moving image work.
Fichtel, Ewa, editor of moving image work.
Kesiak, Miroslaw, editor of moving image work.
Televisfilm.
Österreichischer Rundfunk.
Indiana University. Press.
Note Subtitle on container: Documentary in sound
ISBN 9780253012012
0253012015