It’s an instrument that’s been around for over 300 years—and composers are still discovering new ways to play it!

When Bartolomeo Cristofori first invented the piano around 1700, it was called the pianoforte. In Italian, piano means “soft,” and forte means “loud,” so the name was meant to reflect the large dynamic range of the instrument. (This was quite revolutionary at the time for a keyboard instrument.)

Of course, pianos can do much more than just play soft and loud. From Beethoven to Chopin, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff, the piano has been the beating heart of so much of Western classical music history. It’s a history that’s still unfolding today.

On this Saturday’s episode of Second Inversion: 88 Keys and Infinite Possibilities. We’ll hear from piano composers who think outside the box. From artists who play inside the piano, to a piece of piano music played with no hands, we’ll how composers today are expanding the piano keyboard. Plus: music from a composer who threw a wrench in the classical piano tradition (or at least, a handful of screws and bolts).

To listen, tune in to KING FM on Saturday, May 27 at 9pm PT.