The musicians play on an instrument that was the forerunner to the modern piano, called the forte-piano, combining the Italian words for loud (forte) and soft (piano). This is because the instrument was the first keyboard instrument developed that could truly provide contrast between loud and soft depending on how the keys are struck by the fingers. Its popularity with the emerging European middle class is showcased in a scene in the director's cut where a wealthy family has their daughter take a lesson from Mozart. The real Mozart's piano sonatas were written with his female students in mind. It quickly outpaced the harpsichord and clavichord as a household musical instrument as well as a concert staple. The Classical Era (roughly 1750-1820) saw an end to the harpsichord being used in virtually all compositions, and the piano along with the violin becoming the chief featured instruments of concertos for solo instrument and orchestra. Also in this era, the genre of concerto was no longer a work written for orchestra without a featured solo instrument; that form of concerto was replaced by the sinfonia, later called the symphony. The forte-piano had black keys where the modern piano (fully named the pianoforte) has white keys, and white keys where the modern instrument has black. In one scene where Mr. and Mrs. Mozart are driven to a concert where Mozart is to play, six men are seen hefting the forte-piano on their shoulders through the streets of Vienna. The earlier instrument was smaller than the modern piano (with a shorter keyboard), and much lighter. It was also far less durable than its modern counterpart. Beethoven is the composer credited with helping to design a more durable instrument with a wider pitch range, leading to the instrument having to be renamed.

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