[CAUT] to sign or not to sign

John D. Chapman johnchapman at asolare.org
Tue Feb 3 03:30:26 PST 2009


Our university music department (Wake Forest University in 
Winston-Salem, North Carolina) just bought a new Steinway D.  This has 
started an unexpected discussion.  Our old S&SD was bought in 1968 for a 
concert by Authur Rubinstein.  During the last few years, when a concert 
was given on this piano by a noteworthy pianist, that pianist was asked 
to sign the plate with a black sharpie.  Among the signatures are 
Stephen Hough, Ruth Loredo, Alicia de Larrocha, Menachem Pressler, 
Richard Goode, Philippe Entremont, Arcadi Volodos, and Mark Andre 
Hamlin.  Some of our students and faculty are thrilled to see those 
signatures as reminders that the piano they are playing has been played 
by such great pianists.  Others think it degrades the piano.  The 
discussion is: do we want to continue this practice of plate signing on 
the new S&S D. Someone asked if it increases or decreases the value of 
the piano. (Probably not either way.) What are your thoughts on this?
John D. Chapman
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem NC 27109
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