The Piano pedal

Hidden germ of new sound possibilities between Classicism and Romanticism

Abstract

On many occasions, due to its difficulty in piano performance, the importance of the historical evolution of the pedal has been underestimated and, therefore, its enormous influence after its popularization in the instrument during the transition from classical to romantic style, that is, in the transition of music from the last decades of the 18^th century to that of the 19^th century. The maintenance of loudness by the effect of the damper pedal influenced the tempo of romantic music, which became more fluid, even much more flexible, mainly due to a new articulation model, namely the legato cantabile, similar to another of the musical phenomena of the moment, the bel canto opera, on this new paradigm of articulation arose, in turn, new dynamic and textural models, which banished the simplicity of the melody accompanied by Classicism in favor of denser and more complicated schemes, which would have been difficult to imagine without the participation of the piano pedals.