History of the Piano Welcome to the Virtual Piano Museum. We are
attempting to give you a very brief overview of the development
of the piano and a few pictures of some of the important pianos
in history. The pictures and text in the Virtual Piano Museum
are copied with permission from Piano, A Photographic History of
the World's Most Celebrated Instrument, by David Crombie,
published by Backbeat Books. This book is a beautiful volume of
pictures and piano history. - Cristofori marks the beginning of
the Piano, although there were many keyboard instruments before.
- Viennese pianos were known for their light clean tone and
quick action. - English developed their pianos into bigger more
substantial instruments with a larger tone. - Square piano was
the mainstay of the piano industry at the turn of the Century. -
Modern piano as we know it in all its glory! - Art case pianos
are pianos with exceptional cases. - Avant-garde and
experimental designs have made their way into pianos like
everything else. - Upright