Knee Levers (Pedals): Effects Lost on Modern Pianos

Lost on the modern piano: The creative effects achieved by using fortepiano knee levers (pedals). Let's take a look at how these unique characteristics can be exploited in Mozart's music.

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TRANSCRIPT

Today, let's talk about the two knee levers I have underneath my piano and how they influenced Classical-era music. I'll be using, as my example, the second movement of Mozart's sonata in C Major, K. 330.

First, let's start with the right knee lever because this will be most recognizable to modern pianists. This — exactly as the right pedal on modern pianos — lifts the dampers so that we get a sustained sound like so... [Music playing]

The left knee lever is the interesting one because this one does not exist on modern pianos, and it's a sound that's been lost through the years. What the left one does is it inserts a piece of felt in between the hammers and the strings so that the hammers strike the strings through the felt so that we get this lovely, obscured, ghostly sound. [Music playing] This is called the moderator — which is something that composers, such as Mozart and Beethoven and all of the Classical masters, would have known, loved, and exploited.

Pedals were used differently in the 18th century: They were used purely for effect. They were not used as it's used on the modern piano as a tool to achieve legato playing.

In the middle section of the second movement in Mozart's sonata K. 330, I use both pedals to varying degrees to get this lovely, intimate effect. [Music playing]

So, when used sparingly and tastefully, the use of these pedals can really transform music of the 18th- and early 19th- centuries.