Piano-pedalier

I didn't know they even existed, despite having seen a picture of one posted here at PS not so long ago (probably by yourself, Monica, if I'm not mistaken). I had just assumed it was no more than a joke, and that it was a "doctored" photo.

Yep. The interview is a bit boring for those who don't understand German (and probably even for those who do - it doesn't help when the interviewer can think of nothing better to ask the robot than whether he has a girlfriend, and he mutters something about a sweet and sexy dishwashing machine) but the highlight of the interview is that the robot boasts that he can play any piece faster than any human can, while admitting that he has the unfair advantage of having 53 fingers, and that his "father" has promised him some more.

It's a pity the guy with the camera didn't move round to the left to give us a look at those fingers. But you can find other videos of him in which they are visible.

The interesting link between these two videos is that, whereas some pedal pianos are purpose-built, with the lower piano specialised for the bass notes, others are designed to be used in conjunction with another "normal" piano for the bass, and then there is a translator device which converts the player's foot movements into the movements of mechanical "fingers" which then "play" the keys of the other piano.

 

This might be apocryphal, but I've heard that Schumann expected the pedal piano to catch on and maybe even replace the piano as favored household instrument. He wrote a bunch of pieces for the pedal piano too