Bartolomeo Cristofori, born in 1655 in Padua, Italy, is considered the inventor of the piano. In 1688, he was recruited by Prince Ferdinando de Medici to be the technician for his musical instrument collection. Cristofori invented an instrument called the pianoforte, the precursor to the modern piano, which uses a hammer mechanism to strike strings and produce sound. The presentation discussed Cristofori's invention of the piano and highlighted several famous piano players and different types of pianos and keyboards, including grand pianos, upright pianos, digital pianos, and various digital keyboards.