At 13:05 2/15/2005, you wrote: >Wouldn't it be great to see Chris argue his point with Malcolm Bilson. >Might turn into a slug fest! :-) Having lived here in Ithaca (the land of >historical performance practice) for some time, I find listening to music >performed on historical instruments interesting at least for an academic >standpoint. And, occasionally it is a great musical experience. Cornell >has a couple of pianos from the mid 1800's that sound very good and when >played by a skilled pianist, can be very rewarding to hear. Just my humble >opinion. > >Don > > >> I may as well take this opportunity to come out of the closet and >> reveal my bias, actually a pet peave, just to be fair. In case anyone >> wasn't catching the drift, I have almost no use for historical >> instruments. I can't imagine any musician of the day, say Franz Liszt, >> looking for "the good old piano." Most often professional pianists, >> unless they are looking for novelty, or are overcome with this absurd >> nostalgia for "original instruments," look for the best new piano they >> can find. 'Cause the design is up to date and the parts are new and it >> plays like they expect. Everything else is ANOMALY. And unless your >> customer is of that ilk I'd stick to I-95. (I do make one notable >> exception and that is reproductions. They make for wonderful >> "Historical" concerts although I do think the whole concept is a bit >> hysterical). Of course Stephen, be attentive to what Bill Shull and >> others are warning of cause this isn't I-95, but get as close as you can >> and a "NORMAL" customer will be happy. And BTW, sorry Bill, we're full >> at MARC and printed for this year, but I have forwarded your shameless >> self invitation to Steve and Paul and will put in a good word for you. >>Best to All, >> Chris Solliday I really like Ansel Adams' black and white photography. Ansel Adams had access to color film. I like Mozart on the fortepiano. I have access to 9' grand pianos. Mozart didn't have the sound of a 9' concert grand in mind when he was composing. He did have access to fortepiani. As well as pianists can interpret Mozart on a 9', they can NEVER duplicate what Mozart had in mind. my biased 2¢ Conrad (just finished tuning two harpsichords...)
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