Keyboards

Long before the piano, musicians were already experimenting with ways to turn their touch into sound – from the water-powered hydraulis of ancient Greece to the grand pipe organs that filled medieval cathedrals. The harpsichord brought a kind of elegance to the Baroque era, and around 1700, Bartolomeo Cristofori’s invention of the pianoforte changed everything. This program traces the evolution of the keyboard – from the harpsichord to the organ to the piano – revealing how centuries of invention have shaped the sound of one of music’s most adaptable instruments.

The broadcast opens with South African harpsichordist Leon Schelhase performing Robert de Visée’s Allemande and Gavotte at the 2025 Arizona Bach Festival. Then, Welsh-born keyboardist Guy Whatley performs Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in G minor from the Fisk Organ Series at Camelback Bible Church. The program closes with two performances from the 2024 Flagstaff Piano Festival: Ukrainian-born pianist Inna Faliks performing Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantasie in A-flat Major, and GRAMMY Award–winning pianist Michelle Cann performing Florence Price’s Sonata in E minor.