The first piano appeared in Italy sometime around 1693, originally named the gravicembolo col piano e forte ("the harpsichord with loud and soft"). An Italian harpsichord-maker named Bartolomeo Cristofori replaced harpsichord's jacks with leather covered hammers, activated by a remarkable mechanical system. Where the harpsichord could only make a string produce one sound, the new piano could be played loud or soft, make dynamic accents, and could produce gradations of sounds. Even though this new invention attracted little attention at the time (because of the existing popularity of the harpsichord), the piano would captivate the world in the years to come. Cristofori made only two pianos before he died in 1731, but an article was written about the new invention, and the article made it's way to Germany. There, an organ-builder named Gottfried Silbermann read the article and became fascinated with the idea of a modified harpsichord . Additionally, Silbermann had recently seen a performance dedicated to Louis XIV which included a piece of music played on a huge dulcimer, which is played by striking strings with a mallet. One end of the mallet was hard, while the other was covered with soft leather. Fascinated and inspired, Silbermann set out to create a piano of his own, using leather covered hammers. When Silbermann's first piano was finished in 1736, the great composer Johannes Sebastian Bach evaluated it. Bach admired the tone, but complained that the action was heavy and the upper register weak. Though slightly discouraged, Silbermann introduced his piano to King Frederick the Great, who was thrilled with this new instrument. .
In the late seventeenth century, the piano had begun to shed the reputation of an improved harpsichord, and was starting to be recognized as an entirely new instrument. The piano's popularity steadily increased partially due to the standard of living at that time.
