The piano’s capacity to evoke other instruments, the human voice, animals, or even the weather, contributes in no small way to its universal attractiveness. We love the piano because it sounds like a piano (of course!), but also for its quasi-orchestral dimension, its unique ability to transition seamlessly between textures or soundworlds, and to trigger emotions and narratives. The instrument’s expansive register, dynamic and tonal range, together with its infinite capacity to combine notes and articulations from the fingers and pedals, makes it a uniquely flexible instrument. A full-size grand piano can sound crystal clear, even when surrounded by a hundred other musical instruments played at full tilt. And then there’s the piano’s impressive duration, which, depending on variables of acoustic, attack and pedals – permits notes to sustain for…
