I would definitely come down on the side of the 9'. At UMKC we actually have a pair of D's in a hall not much bigger than the one you describe. We have talk every once in a long while about putting smaller pianos in there, but mostly the large pianos serve beautifully. Kent Swafford On Mar 24, 2010, at 10:53 AM, Paul Milesi, RPT wrote: > I would appreciate some opinions/input regarding preferred piano size for a > small recital hall in our music department. > > The hall has a wooden stage, wooden walls with soundproofing material behind > them, 110 upholstered seats, a tile floor slanted toward the stage (I > believe there's a name for that?), and a short drapery behind the middle > portion of the stage. Overall, the room is very "dry" rather than "wet" > sound-wise. > > This recital hall is the only performance space located within our small > music department. We do have access to other spaces around campus, but they > and their pianos are not within our control. This small hall is our primary > recital space, and currently has a 15-year-old Yamaha C5 (6'6") as a recital > piano. > > The Yamaha is wearing down a little, and we might have the opportunity to > reclaim a 1970 Steinway D from another venue that actually belongs to the > Department of Music. I put new hammers, shanks & flanges last year, but it > still needs a lot of work to really be a recital instrument (too much gospel > music over the years). Big issue is of course budget, but I feel if we > don't at leat try to reclaim the D now, it will be lost to us as a > recondition-able, rather than rebuild-able, instrument. In other words, I > want to save it from further abuse in the Chapel, and provide them with a > more suitable piano in terms of their available storage space (small) and > uses. The likelihood of the Department acquiring another concert quality > piano in my lifetime are virtually non-existent, as I see it. The C5 is > currently our ONLY performance piano. > > So...what are your thoughts on a D (or any other 9'footer, for that matter) > in this hall? I think if voiced to the hall (no lacquer applied to the new > hammers yet), it would be a wonderful piano -- and world's apart from the C5 > (which is still a nice instrument) -- for student and faculty recitals. > This assumes I can do sufficiently successful reconditioning (several pulley > keys, balance rail mortises bushed correctly (big mortises from glisses), > etc.). Some faculty have thought this piano would be "too big, too much > sound." > > Thanks for sharing your expertise and experience. I've already gone out on > a limb for this. Now I'm having second thoughts, second-guessing myself, so > I'm anxious to hear what you think. :) > -- > Paul Milesi, RPT > Staff Piano Technician > Howard University Department of Music > Washington, DC > >
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