Pianotech

Dear Colleagues

The "I am advised that . . . . " is often the sort of response among the uninitiated. Advised by whom? And with what experience? 

Most pianists don't even know that unequal tuning is an option nor what they can do with it. It shouldn't be technicians who deny the option to pianists. Many pianists simply consider a piano to be a piano - and that's it. But it's so much more. If you're Beethoven, it's a reduction of the orchestra itself.

At the weekend at Hammerwood a young performer put the 1885 Bechstein through its paces with

Bach Gubaidulina Rachmaninov Gershwin in unequal temperament

Is the prejudice against unequal temperament that you can hear, opening up keys to rooms of different sound, really justified?

Certainly the audience was blown away, as they are time after time when I tune. Ultimately it's the audience who are the customers . . . and the piano industry can profit greatly from what attracts more customers.

At 40:38 Bach Gubaidulina Rachmaninov Gershwin in unequal temperament

 is a modulation that's really shocking. And wonderful? It certainly wakes up the audience and makes the music more interesting. One sits up and takes notice.

Elsewhere someone commented that it was a pity about the unisons. Please remember that this isn't a Steinway, far from it - an is a 140 year old instrument with Bechstein fuzzy falseness, and on which the repertoire had been practiced during the day before the concert without touching up, difficulties with a few jumpy and looser than I'd like pins, and a change of temperature.

Tim Foster and a handful of other friends have been experimenting with my tuning philosophy and finding similar experiences.

For anyone interested for anyone with access to the UK PTA News, in the current issue I've written about the quest for Bach's tuning in the light of pre-1870s instruments and from which we can find pointers to unequal temperament characteristics that we can seek in producing a good universal non-equal tuning.

Hope you might enjoy the concert.

Best wishes

David P

Dear Colleagues

The "I am advised that . . . . " is often the sort of response among the uninitiated. Advised by whom? And with what experience? 

Most pianists don't even know that unequal tuning is an option nor what they can do with it. It shouldn't be technicians who deny the option to pianists. Many pianists simply consider a piano to be a piano - and that's it. But it's so much more. If you're Beethoven, it's a reduction of the orchestra itself.

At the weekend at Hammerwood a young performer put the 1885 Bechstein through its paces with

Bach Gubaidulina Rachmaninov Gershwin in unequal temperament

Is the prejudice against unequal temperament that you can hear, opening up keys to rooms of different sound, really justified?

Certainly the audience was blown away, as they are time after time when I tune. Ultimately it's the audience who are the customers . . . and the piano industry can profit greatly from what attracts more customers.

At 40:38 Bach Gubaidulina Rachmaninov Gershwin in unequal temperament

 is a modulation that's really shocking. And wonderful? It certainly wakes up the audience and makes the music more interesting. One sits up and takes notice.

Elsewhere someone commented that it was a pity about the unisons. Please remember that this isn't a Steinway, far from it - an is a 140 year old instrument with Bechstein fuzzy falseness, and on which the repertoire had been practiced during the day before the concert without touching up, difficulties with a few jumpy and looser than I'd like pins, and a change of temperature.

Tim Foster and a handful of other friends have been experimenting with my tuning philosophy and finding similar experiences.

For anyone interested for anyone with access to the UK PTA News, in the current issue I've written about the quest for Bach's tuning in the light of pre-1870s instruments and from which we can find pointers to unequal temperament characteristics that we can seek in producing a good universal non-equal tuning.

Hope you might enjoy the concert.

Best wishes

David P