One more case in point, and then I'm out of here - have other things to do: Two or more decades ago, before a certain auditorium was redone acoustically, the 2750-seat hall was very plush and comfortable, but dead as a door knob. It was designed for amplified speech, and in that regard, it did just fine. A young pianist came to play with the symphony. After first rehearsal, she refused to play the D that was provided. Frantic calls went to and from Steinway, and the symphony manager had a brand new D brought in from 120 miles away. She pitched a fit about that one too, and the owner of the new D was called in, in a panic, to voice it. He did, but she didn't like that either. Time was up to the wire, and she either had to play that piano, or they would have to call off the concert. She played it. I sat way back in the hall during the concert, and it was OK. It didn't sound bad at all, considering the acoustically dead hall. There was no use trying to explain to this gal that the sound was actually being projected from the stage, but nothing was coming back, and it was obvious she was trying to make an impression in more ways than one. (True story, but names of people and places are omitted.) Jim Ellis
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