Klavier

As Printed on a Score

The German label for the piano staff (Klavier; Klav. later), common in German and Austrian editions — songs are often headed Gesang and Klavier. Older editions spell it Clavier, and before about 1800 that word meant any keyboard instrument, so a Clavier part by Bach is not necessarily for piano.

Abbreviations: Klav.

Also spelled: Clavier

How Composers Use It

On a modern score Klavier simply means piano and asks for nothing different from Pianoforte or Piano; choose the label to match the language of the rest of the score. The older sense matters when reading earlier music: Bach’s Clavier-Übung and Das wohltemperirte Clavier were written for the keyboard instruments of his day, not specifically for the piano.

Example

Berg, Sieben frühe Lieder, “Nacht”, staff labels: “Gesang” over “Klavier” — voice and piano both named in German.

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