Question

[Mary Smith]

I will jump in the fray briefly to respond to Stephen's 
comments...what I know about Kissin, and what I've heard, he is not a 
spoiled brat or unthinking, but may just be a true artist...



>Having been involved with piano performance from both sides of the fence (i.e.
>pianist and technician) - and these remarks apply equally to both 
>historical and
>modern pianos - it is ultimately the responsibility of the pianist to adapt as
>required to meet the characteristics of whatever instrument is 
>presented. There
>is no excuse for banging fff with rough and ugly tone. While many pianists can
>make some pianos sound good, it is possible to make any piano sound 
>bad, and, by
>recognizing its limitations, the true artist is capable of making any piano
>sound good. In my experience there is no shortage of spoiled-brat un-thinking
>superstar pianists, however there is a serious shortage of true artists. Go
>think.
>
>Stephen
>
>Stephen Birkett Fortepianos
>464 Winchester Drive
>Waterloo, Ontario
>Canada N2T 1K5
>tel:519-885-2228
>mailto: birketts@wright.aps.uoguelph.ca