13 Days When Music Changed Forever - Program 04: August 8, 1803: Beethoven and the Piano

The date when Parisian piano maker Sébastien Érard gave one of his sturdy new creations to Beethoven, and the composer was able to set aside his forte piano and write more expressive and emotional music, beginning with the “Waldstein” Sonata. New instruments and new technologies have unalterably changed music many times, but the pace of change quickened in the 20th century, with the record player, the computer and the Internet.