fortepiano

thumb|right|250px|Fortepiano by Paul McNulty (piano maker)|Paul McNulty after Walter & Sohn, 1805

A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to refer to the mid-18th to early-19th century instruments, for which composers of the Classical era such as Haydn and Mozart wrote their piano music. Sometimes, the works of Beethoven and Schubert are likewise considered as fortepiano music.