Talk:Fortepiano
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Name Reversal
[edit]I thought that the fortepiano was the original name for the pianoforte, and someone had accidentally reversed the name. In Italian we call it the "pianoforte".
Incorrect usage of pianoforte vs fortepiano
[edit]According to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and academic standards, the words pianoforte and fortepiano are synonymous. The assertion this article makes to distinguish the difference between the two is not correct in any means. The article itself back-pedals with multiple sources proving that it's quantification of the words are incorrect. It also begins by saying "A forte piano is an early piano" despite also saying "not to be confused with pianoforte." So the article cannot even decide which is it? Is a fortepiano it's own instrument unrelated to the piano or is it a piano?
So how do musicologists quantify older pianos? Generally, it's accepted that the pianoforte developed into the modern grand in ~1850 with the addition of a cast-iron frame. However, today's piano action has improved significantly since 1850. Prior to 1850 many historic pianoforte's from a variety of manufacturers began production sometime after 1770. Creating a separation between pianoforte and fortepiano does not contain a single benefit and instead makes discussions more confusing. The correct manner to substantiate a specific pianoforte is to include the date of manufacturer (or suspected date if in question) and the brand-name.
In practice: Erard 1866, Fritz 1816, Conrad Graf 1835, Hofmann 1790
Also consider that this article is calling all pianos from 1850 to present a "piano." ~180 years. But the time-frame from 1770 to 1850 is only eighty years. The piano was not popular from 1700 to 1770 and the main research in that time region is Cristofori's pianos. iirc Between 1808 and 1816 a form of double-escapement action was developed allowing it to perform similar virtuosic material to the modern grand. This begs the question whether or not this articles decision regarding "piano era's" makes sense.
Another issue is that the piano article shares similar if not near identical content, sources, and photographs. It makes much more sense for piano to mean 1850 to present and pianoforte or fortepiano to mean 1700 to 1850. (Although, there are likely some pianos before 1850 that could be argued fit into the modern piano category.)
I suggest the following:
1) Merge fortepiano into piano which would benefit its fortepiano section, Removing the unsubstantiated differences between pianoforte and fortepiano.
2) Think deeply regarding what this article is trying to communicate and the focus or feature of the content. Then how to separate the two articles in a manner that makes sense and solves it's problematic aspects so that this article has a clear direction.
According to wikipedia merge guidelines I believe this article fits into all five of Wikipedia's reasons for merging. Fortepiano is a duplicate of piano. Both articles contain overlap. This article is fairly short. Readers may benefit from the content of the piano page prior to reading about the pianoforte. I also don't think it meets any of the reasons for not merging. Adding the fortepiano article to piano will not make piano too long. Many articles such as WW2 or Donald Trump are much longer than piano would be. They aren't really stand-alone articles and are not discrete subjects as one must comprehend the modern piano prior to learning about historic pianos. Merging also allows discussion of the development of piano pedals from 1770 to the modern day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Merging
Wiki Education assignment: College Composition II
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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 January 2024 and 11 May 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Talaaburoumi (article contribs).
— Assignment last updated by Lindseybean28 (talk) 21:25, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
Wiki Education assignment: MUSC 2323 Spring 2026
[edit] This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 20 January 2026 and 13 May 2026. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Nhuzij (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Fayths18, Zaylie H, Thanatos22.
— Assignment last updated by Fmb.2100 (talk) 04:51, 14 May 2026 (UTC)