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Maffei's interview reports Cristofori's memory of his conversation with the Prince at this time:Ĭhe fu detto al Principe, che non volevo rispos' egli il farò volere io. This could mean that Cristofori was expected to turn over the fruits of his experimentation to the court." Lastly, the Prince was evidently fascinated with machines (he collected over forty clocks, in addition to a great variety of elaborate musical instruments), and would thus be naturally interested in the elaborate mechanical action that was at the core of Cristofori's work on the piano.
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Moreover, Pollens notes, "curiously, there are no records of bills submitted for Cristofori's pianofortes. According to Stewart Pollens, there were already several qualified individuals in Florence who could have filled the position however, the Prince passed them over and paid Cristofori a higher salary than his predecessor. The evidence-all circumstantial-that Cristofori may have been hired as an inventor is as follows. It would be surprising if Cristofori at age 33 had not already shown the inventiveness for which he later became famous. However, it seems possible that the Prince wanted to hire Cristofori not just as his technician, but specifically as an innovator in musical instruments. Ferdinando was looking for a new technician to take care of his many musical instruments, the previous incumbent having just died. The Prince traveled to Venice in 1688 to attend the Carnival, so he may have met Cristofori passing through Padua on his way home. It is not known what led Ferdinando to recruit Cristofori. Tuscany was at the time still a small independent state. Ferdinando, a lover and patron of music, was the son and heir of Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Probably the most important event in Cristofori's life is the first one of which we have any record: in 1688, at age 33, he was recruited to work for Prince Ferdinando de Medici. Pollens also gives strong reasons to doubt the authenticity of the cello and double bass instruments sometimes attributed to Cristofori. However, as Stewart Pollens points out, this person cannot be Bartolomeo Cristofori, since the census records an age of 13, whereas Cristofori according to his baptismal record would have been 25 at the time. A tale is told that he served as an apprentice to the great violin maker Nicolò Amati, based on the appearance in a 1680 census record of a "Christofaro Bartolomei" living in Amati's house in Cremona. From the latter, both Maffei's notes and the published journal article are preserved.Ĭristofori was born in Padua in the Republic of Venice.
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The available source materials on Cristofori's life include his birth and death records, two wills, the bills he submitted to his employers, and a single interview carried out by Scipione Maffei.