[CAUT] Early 19th c. instrument mp3

[Laurence Libin]

1. 18th- and early 19th-century wood-framed pianos and reproductions 
naturally don't stand in tune so well as modern pianos because wood cases 
flex, among other reasons, but they're not primitive except in the sense of 
being early. Even Cristofori's designs are highly evolved and perfectly 
suited to the music his pianos were intended to play. Same for Mozart's 
Stein and Walter and Beethoven's Graf, etc. These are very sophisticated 
instruments, but of course there were also inferior makers then as there are 
now. But you're right, replicas tend to be more reliable than antiques and 
often give a more accurate impression of how old pianos sounded when they 
were new.

2. While humidity and temperature changes might quickly affect a wood-framed 
piano, it's also possible that what sounds out of tune to you might be a 
historical tuning, not equal temperament. Listen to Malcolm Bilson's studio 
recordings, for instance; his pianos are dead in tune, but if you're not 
used to their timbres they could sound odd.

Laurence


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Graham" <grahampianos at yahoo.com>
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 11:58 PM
Subject: [CAUT] Early 19th c. instrument mp3


> The Slate article is interesting, but the recordings are not really a fair 
> comparison.  The Steinway recordings are pure and professional, while the 
> historic instruments seem to have been recorded "live in concert" with 
> much less professional equipment.  And... they don't sound in tune to me.
>
> We do need exactly this type of new/old comparison recording, but it needs 
> to be a better match of recording quality.  And it probably should be done 
> with newly built reproductions, rather than the antiques themselves.
>
> My ignorance of antique instruments will be showing here, but is there 
> something in the design of the old scales so primitive that they can't be 
> tuned?  Or is it just the frailty of the old instrument?
>
> Seems like every "historic" instrument I've ever heard needs a good 
> tuning, even after it has had one.
>
> Greg Graham, RPT
> Brodheadsville, PA