Download The famous composer who was showing great interest in the so

W.A. Mozart was the first famous composer who showed a great interest in the so-called
“pianoforte pedale”. He did his own design of the instrument and had it constructed
around the year of 1782. In the years to come, Mozart played on this instrument at many
concerts in Vienna, but more often for his friends at home. The instrument at issue was
actually “hammerflügel” (fortepiano) with an additional pedalboard. Therefore, a pianist
could play both with his hands and feet like an organist. Mozart, thus, discovered
completely new sound potentials of the instrument.
A century later, Robert and Clara Schumann got a similar instrument in 1845. They
showed a great passion for the organ and wanted to rehearse at home. Here is what Clara
wrote in their diary: “(…) it gives us a great pleasure. Our initial intention was to
rehearse music pieces for the organ. But, Robert had shown a greater interest in this
matter, so he composed Four Sketches Op. 58 and Studies Op.56, which will certainly
awaken a great interest as something completely new.” And indeed, Robert wrote
enthusiastically to a friend from Leipzig a few days later: “Frankly speaking, this idea
means a lot to me, and I believe that it will bring a new impetus to the piano music.
Rather amazing effects can be achieved thanks to the pedals (…)”. Thanks to
Mendelssohn’s help (this musician was the head of Music Conservatoire in Leipzig at the
time and played with a lot on the same instrument), Schumann succeeded in opening a
special course of studies for the pedal piano. But, as we know today, the idea was not
widely accepted. Therefore, Schumann’s precious music pieces for this instrument, the
true pearls of romanticist music, deserve to be brought to live today on the reconstructed
instruments.
After Schumann, Franz Liszt, Sain-Saëns, César Franck, Charles Gounod and others
composed music pieces for this instrument.
Technically, the pedal piano can be connected to an independent body with its own bass
strings, or even to a special sub-octave mechanism in the “ordinary piano”. There have
been other combined versions as well. The most exciting part of playing the piano with
feet, therefore a challenge as well, is the fact that a musician can achieve even the most
sensitive nuances of dynamics (ppp → pp →mp →fortissimo) if he/she uses and controls
his/her feet in an adequate manner.
Some contemporary composers, such as Jean Guillou, have recently started to write for
the pedal piano.
By Dalibor Miklavčič