Hammerklavier

What it means

Hammerklavier or Hammerflügel (fortepiano) designates the early forms of the piano in which the strings are struck by hammers covered with leather or felt. Decisive compared with the harpsichord is that the volume depends on the touch — hence the contemporary name fortepiano or pianoforte. The instruments of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are lighter in build than today's grands: thinner strings, smaller hammers, a wooden frame instead of a cast frame, a smaller range, and, depending on construction, knee or pedal stops for lifting the dampers.

Musical use

The sound differs distinctly from the modern grand: slimmer, decaying faster, more strongly differentiated in the registers — the bass clear and dry, the middle register speaking, the treble silvery. For the repertoire of the Viennese Classical period and the early Romantic period this means that fast runs stay transparent, that dense chords do not blur, and that the change between registers becomes audible as a change of colour. The development toward today's instrument took place over decades and in different schools of construction; historically informed performances therefore use instruments that fit the respective time of composition.

Performance practice

The keys are lighter and the key travel shorter than on the modern grand; whoever plays with great expenditure of force produces harshness instead of volume. Work with fine gradation from the finger and use the faster response for speaking articulation. The lifting of the dampers is used more sparingly than today's right pedal, because the sound merges less of itself. Expect more frequent tuning and greater sensitivity to temperature and humidity. Before playing, check the range of the instrument, since works of that time are often composed exactly to its limits.

Bear in mind that the instruments of the period differ strongly among themselves: Viennese and English types of construction have different actions, different key resistance, and different sound conceptions. Check which instrument fits the work you are playing. Knee levers and stops offer changes of sound that are often not noted in the score and belong to the shaping.