the harpsichord and
clavichord did not take kindly to the piano-forte at first. The keys
needed a greater delicacy of treatment, and the very fact that the
instrument required a new style of playing was of course sufficient to
relegate the piano to another generation. The art of playing had at the
time of the invention of the piano attained a high degree of efficiency.
Such musicians as Do-menico Scarlatti in Italy and John Sebastian Bach
in Germany had developed a wonderful degree of skill in treating the
_clavecin_, or spinet, and the clavichord, and, if we may trust the old
accounts, they called out ecstasies of admiration similar to those which
the great modern players have excited. With the piano-forte, however, an
entirely new style of expression came into existence. The power to play
soft or loud at will developed the individual or personal feeling of the
player, and new effects were speedily invented and put in practice. The
art of playing ceased to be considered from the merely objective point
of view, for the richer resources of the piano suggested the indulgence
of individuality of expression. It was left to Emanuel Bach to make
the first step toward the proper treatment of the piano, and to adapt
a style of composition expressly to its requirements, though even he
continued to prefer the clavichord. The rigorous, polyphonic style of
his illustrious father was succeeded by the lyrical and singing
element, which, if fantastic and daring, had a sweet, bright charm very
fascinating. He writes in one of his treatises: "Methinks music
ought appeal directly to the heart, and in this no performer on
the piano-forte will succeed by merely thumping and drumming, or by
continual arpeggio playing. During the last few years my chief endeavor
has been to play the piano-forte, in spite of its deficiency in
sustaining the sound, so much as possible, in a singing manner, and
to compose for it accordingly. This is by no means an easy task, if we
desire not to leave the ear empty or to disturb the noble simplicity of
the cantabile by too much noise."

Haydn and Mozart, who composed somewhat for the harpsichord (for until
the closing years of the eighteenth century this instrument had
not entirely yielded to the growing popularity of the piano-forte),
distinguished themselves still more by their treatment of the latter
instrument. They closely followed the maxims of Emanuel Bach. They
aimed to please the public by sweet melody