Allan Day writes; >One of my customers will be recording the Bethoven Diabelli Variations >using the Kirnburger III. Once, in preparation for a recital on historical temperaments, the two artists and I listened to the program on several different tunings. The Prinz-Neidhart , Werkmiester III, and a Kirnberger-Stanhope were tried, as well as the Young. The Mozart on the program sounded best in the Prinz, no doubt in anybody's mind. The Beethoven sounded rough in the Prinz as well as the Kirnberger-Stan. The Young was the ultimate choice. It provides key character to all of the music, yet avoids being overly dissonant when Ludwig goes all the way out there. * * * * * * I would like to make a suggestion to all that are involved in historical temperaments. I suggest that we always bear in mind that the modern listener may well be put off by something as beautiful,(to us), as Beethoven on a Werkmiester, Kirnberger, or even a modified meantone. There is little familiarity out there with dissonance at these levels, and if given too big a dose, too soon, many listeners will reject this "new-fangled idea of historical temperaments" instead of being impressed with the modulations and contrasts that the classical keyboard composers exhibited with well-tempered tunings. I have seen this happen, and it is hard to get them to come back. The Young will often awaken in the neophyte listener the recognition of tonality, and, (if you don't dwell on F# maj!), they usually will enjoy the added texture. My own mistakes in the past have been when I used a temperament from far earlier than the composer's own period of work. Too little tempering for a piece can be something of a missed opportunity, but too much key color can be counter-productive to widening the audience. Regards to all, and a pat on the back to Allan Day for getting something cooking out there. (:)}} Ed Foote Precision Piano Works Nashville, Tn
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