This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Pianotech and CAUT .
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It's been a long time coming, but it is finally here: Montal's Art of Tuning in English translation. About five years ago I first started translating Montal's amazing book. Thanks to the support of the Piano Technicians Guild Foundation, and extraordinary contributions of energy and talent by Mario Igrec and Joyce Meekins, we now have a completed project.
It was the first comprehensive text about piano tuning and repair, together with just about everything else about the piano, from mid 19th century France. It is a treasure trove of historical information, repair instructions, a sophisticated tuning method, descriptions of fascinating instruments, illustrated with detailed engravings. The publication is based on the 1865 edition, with material from the original 1836 edition in footnotes and appendices. It is beautifully designed and laid out by Mario Igrec, with translation, introduction and explanatory footnotes by Fred Sturm.
Read about the profession as practiced in the 19th century - methods we think of as new are as old as the hills, have been re-invented many times. 452 pages, a real classic in the literature, head and shoulders above all the competition before the 20th century.
It is available from the PTG home office (discount for PTG members) at
http://www.ptg.org/scripts/4disapi.dll/store/the-art-of-tuning/614/ More information about the book, and about the life of Montal, can be found at
The Art Of Tuning.
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Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm@unm.edu http://fredsturm.net http://www.artoftuning.com "We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Casteneda
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