Pianotech

  • 1.  A perplexing tuning for Haydn, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn and Messaein

    Posted 07-21-2024 16:54

    Upon the restringing of the concert Bechstein at Hammerwood Park and knowing the instrument would need more tunings, for a concert yesterday I departed from the norm of the usual tunings for which I'm known and tried a harmonic variation of Kirnberger III. Some musicians have appreciated the extra spice that this can give to their curry of sound and my focus with Steinways and concert instruments has simply to make the instrument sound nice, together with a hint of key flavour. Kirnberger III veers towards giving a hint of the heritage of 1/4 comma Meantone so I really hadn't dared. And to give such a tuning for Mendelssohn, Stravinsky and Messaein. . . . perplexing!

    Fellow tuners might loathe my work and I'd certainly fail the PTG exam as it's impossible to create the tuning by ear but 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSiZ2ilGY-4

    YouTube remove preview
    Concert at Hammerwood Park with piano in variation of Kirnberger III temperament 00.00 Introduction about tuning 02:54 Introduction to programme 05:13 Haydn Sonata B minor Hob XVI:32 16:50 Stravinsky Etude F# major 21:28 Beethoven Violin Sonata C minor Op.30. No.2 51:17 Messaein Quatuor pour la fin du Temps, VIII.
    View this on YouTube >

    is the result and the audience loved it. 

    Increasingly audiences are bored by standard tuning and the best conservatoires are looking beyond it.

    Best wishes

    David P



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    David Pinnegar BSc ARCS
    Hammerwood Park, East Grinstead, Sussex, UK
    +44 1342 850594
    "High Definition" Tuning
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  • 2.  RE: A perplexing tuning for Haydn, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn and Messaein

    Member
    Posted 07-22-2024 05:58

    Hello David,

    Nicely done! I also just recently restrung a 1885 Pleyel grand and landed on my variation of 1/4 meantone since it seemed to suit better than standard Equal Temperament. Which ETD app are you using David?
    Best,
    Ian


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    Ian Graham
    Piano Technician
    Instrument Restoration
    www.igraham.ca
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: A perplexing tuning for Haydn, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn and Messaein

    Posted 07-22-2024 07:41
    Dear Ian

    Great to hear that you've enjoyed it, as I hope others will, and it was certainly a surprise to me to hear how well it worked. One or two of the people for whom I've tuned have really liked the stronger tuning than my usual so thought it was time to put it to the test on an instrument I knew.

    1/4 comma meantone on an 1885 instrument sounds to be very adventurous. I've done it on harpsichords and the 1802 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV0bkcSr_Kg but it's severe for most 19th century repertoire and it can sound foul 
    https://youtu.be/AHAZjcPmtrs?t=2807 
    but has a beauty

    For Mozart 1/4 comma meantone is really important for musicological research and all music schools and conservatoires should have an instrument tuned to it for that purpose. It highlights where a composer is doing a funny modulation and highlights passages therefore which need special attention in less unequal or equal tunings.

    1/4 comma tunings have wonderful purity, of 3rds for meantone and 5ths in Werkmeister III but it might be argued that 1/5th comma is more civilised in sound. However, moving meantone to 1/5 or 1/6th comma means that one's departing from purity of 3rds and so arguably missing out on the 5th harmonic resonance which can be enhanced. 

    Position of listener can be really important because from an audience point of view at right-angles to the instrument or the player's, the C major and C minor contrast https://youtu.be/HSiZ2ilGY-4?t=106 is much greater in real life and C minor really dirtier rather than through the position of the microphones chosen

    Best wishes

    David P
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    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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    +44 1342 850594



    Original Message