What did Bartolomeo Cristofori invent around 1695 which changed the world of music forever?

In the late 17th century, popular keyboard instruments like the harpsichord had a significant limitation: their strings were plucked, meaning every note was played at the same volume. An Italian instrument maker named Bartolomeo Cristofori, while working for the Medici court in Florence, devised an ingenious solution. Around 1695, he created a new instrument where felt-covered hammers struck the strings instead of plucking them. For the first time, a musician could control the volume of a note simply by varying the pressure of their touch on the keys.

Cristofori originally named his creation the "gravicembalo col piano e forte," which translates to "harpsichord with soft and loud," directly describing its revolutionary capability. This was eventually shortened to the familiar name we use today. This unprecedented control over dynamics gave composers and performers an entirely new palette for emotional expression, fundamentally changing the course of music. His invention would become a cornerstone of Western music, central to everything from classical concertos to jazz and rock.