The Sound of Historical Keyboard Instruments

The harpsichord resounds with a rich, silvery tone. The conductor sits at it and leads the orchestra. The lids of these instruments are often lavishly decorated with paintings by the finest artists. The clavichord is more modest in design and less expensive to make. Its sound is surprisingly soft, yet all the more expressive and intimate. 
Shortly before 1700, the brilliant instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori developed a kind of symbiosis between the harpsichord and the clavichord—the fortepiano, in which the strings are struck by small hammers.
By playing historical keyboard instruments from the eras of Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, we experience the sound of bygone eras and hear stories about the close relationship between piano music and instrument making.

With Christiane Barth (Handel House Foundation Museum director) and Albrecht Hartmann (pianist)