and there is nothing quite like Mozart played on a good fortepiano reproduction or new harpsichord, heck I own and cherish my recently built clavichord and so did Bach and Mozart but give them an "historical" instrument and I fear you would have found them playing the violin. My humble opinion, of course. Chris Solliday ----- Original Message ----- From: "Conrad Hoffsommer" <hoffsoco@luther.edu> To: "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 2:55 PM Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway Style II Grand > 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...) > > > _______________________________________________ > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > >
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