"The Piano Forte often talks to you; - in various keys, tunes and expressions I allow but be it Lesson or Country dance, Sonata or Waltz, you are really its constant theme" (from a letter by Jane Austen to her niece Caroline, January 23rd 1817). Piano music seems to have been very much at the heart of Jane Austen s life: her niece tells us that she practised every day. Jane Austen s own piano was made by Stodart and would have been very similar to the used on tracks 7-12 on this CD, a Stodart of 1807. The other piano used on this CD is a 1801 Broadwood: this grand piano has a much fuller sound and was one of the most popular of the time. These pianos were used in the film of Sense and Sensibility and in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.