Beethoven's Piano Predecessors

                Although the piano was invented around 1700 (by Bartolomeo Christofori), for decades 

        it was a deficient and unreliable instrument for serious composers and performers.  It finally 

        became more widely used c. 1770 and its, predecessor, the harpsichord, began falling out of 

        use.  In the 1790s the piano became very popular with both aristocrats and the new middle 

        class purchasing pianos for their homes and having their children piano lessons. 


Important composers of piano music before Beethoven:

        Carl Philipp Emanuel (C.P.E. Bach)  (1714 - 1788) 

        Joseph Haydn  (1732 - 1809)

        Johann Christian Bach  (1735 - 1782)

        Muzio Clemente  (1752 - 1832)  

        Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  (1756 - 1791)

        Jan Ladislav Dussek  (1760 - 1812)