【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 ikethe strings insidethe instrument,likedrumsticksstriking the head ofa drum. Thisstriking action iswhy thepiano is percussion instrument instead ofa string instrument. Okay,so why isthisso important? Well,thepercussiveeffect ofthose littlehammers meansthat the pianist,unlikethe harpsichordist, cancontrol the dynamicsof the sound how softlyor loudly each not isstruck, hence thename, pianoforte,softand loud. Now artistically for both posersand performersthis wasa majorturning point. Thisbrand new instrument,capable of producing loud and softtones,greatly expanded the possibilitiesfor conveying forincreased expressiveness,infact, wasessentialto the Romanticstylethat dominated 19th century ’m getting ahead ofmyself. Um,beforeweget back to themusicalimpactof thisdevelopment,I wanna takea look at the socialimpactthat I , inthe late1700s and the earlier1800s, thedevelopmentof the piano coincidedwiththe growth ofthe middle classin Western Europe. Ofcoursefolk music, traditional songsand dances had alwaysbeen part of everyday life. Butas massproduction techniqueswererefinedin the 19th century,the priceof pianosdropped to thepoint that a larger proportion of the population could affordto own becamemoreavailable, they brought classicalmusic,the musicwhich previously had beenposedonly forthe upper classes,into the livesofthe middleclasspeople aswell. Oneway in particular that wecan seethe socialimpactof thisinstrument isitsrole 全國免費咨詢電話： 4000123267 in thelivesof women ofthe , itwasquite rare fora womanto perform on anything, but maybea harp or maybe shesang. But suddenly inthe 19th country itbecamequiteacceptable, evento someextent,almost expected fora middleclassEuropean womanto beable to play the piano,partly becauseamong uppermiddleclasswomen itwasa sign itwasalso an excellent way forsomewomen to earn moneyby giving piano somewomen, thosefew whohad exceptional talentand the opportunity todevelop it, theirlives weredramaticallyaffected. Later we’llbe listeningto works by a posernamedRobert Schumann. Butlet’s now talkabout hiswifeClara Schumann. Clara Schumann wasborn in Germany in 1819. She grew up surrounded by pianos. Her fathersold pianosand both her parents wererespectedpiano learnedto play the instrument whenshe wasa smallchildand gave her firstpublic recitalat age9. Clara grew up tobeea wellknown and respected piano virtuoso, a performer ofextraordinary skillwho not only gave concerts acrossEurope, but alsowas oneof the firstimportant female posersforthe instrument. Conversation2 Narrator: Listen to aconversation between a professor and a student. Professor: Jeff,I’m glad you drop by. I’ve beenmeaning tocongratulate you on the class 全國免費咨詢電話： 4000123267 leadershipaward. Student: Thanks professor Bronson, Iwas reallyhappy to getit and a littlesurprised. Imean, therewereso many otherpeople nominated. Professor: Well,I know theaward was welldeserved. Now,what can Ido for you today? Student: I neededto talk to you about the medieval history test,you know,the one scheduled forFriday afternoon. Professor: Yes? Student: Well,there isthistrip that myFrench classis taking. Wearegoing to Montreal for the weekend. Professor: Montreal? That’s myfavorite ’llyou be seeingthere? Student: I’m not sureyet. Well,the reason,the main reason I wantedto go isthat we’ll be rooming with Frenchspeaking studentsthere, you know,so wecan get achance to useour French toactually talkwith realFrenchspeakers. Professor: 全國免費咨詢電話： 4000123267 It soundslikea good opportunity. But then,there isthat test. Student: Yeah? but? well, the thing is thebus leavesright in themiddleof whenour history classmeetsthis Friday. So, well,I wasthinking maybe I could takethe teston a differentday likeMonday morning during your officehours? Professor: Eh? Monday morning? um? that wouldnot be? oh wait, let mejustseeone thing. Aha, okay. That’swhat I thought. So, for your class,I wasplanning a take homeexam so you could justtake thetestalong with. Let’ssee,I guessyou could eto class Friday justto pick up way you’d stillmake your bus, and then findsome quiettimeduring your trip topleteitand you can bring it toclassWednesday whenI’ll becollectingeveryone else’s. Student: Hmm? um... during the trip, well,I guessI could. So I shouldplan to take m y books and stuffwithme. Professor: You’ll definitelyneed your classnote. I am giving you several shortessay questionsto