George Winston contract

[Robert S. Bussell]

At 12:54 PM 11/30/97 -0500, you wrote:
>In a message dated 97-11-30 09:32:34 EST, you write:
>
><< The contract _was_humorous.
> After all the hype and hoopla, the show just about put me to sleep. >>
>Sorry about the duplicate, you press the wrong button, it's too late!
>     I would tend to agree with all of those who find Winston's contract
>overbearing and imposing.  I don't care for his music either.  I think if he
>would let me tune and voice the piano according to my own professionally
>developed techniques, he might truly be inspired that evening to create
>something memorable.
>    I think these explicit instructions however are his attempt to get at
>least SOMETHING done about the very poorly kept pianos that he more than too
>often encounters.  During my entire experience as a professional piano
>technician and a member of PTG, I have always been confounded by the vast gap
>between what is talked about as the norm here, among this group and at
>functions like PTG seminars and the bleak reality we face on a day to day
>basis.
>    Unfortunate it is that these "instructions" will be laughed at by the few
>good technicians and pianos he encounters and do virtually nothing to improve
>the situation in the majority of cases.
>    Bill Bremmer RPT
>    Madison, Wisconsin
>    "I have only one real enemy...Mediocrity"
>


On the contrary I enjoyed working for George Winston.  I was also not in
the least bit offended by his contract.  All he really wanted was a
properly prepared Piano.  Any competent technician would realize that the
tuning sheet that comes with the contract is only a minimal guideline (for
those so called tuners who cannot tune). Anyone who has ever used an
accu-tuner would realize that those numbers would not produce the best
tuning on the "local Steinway D".  For one thing those numbers only change
in increments of .5 cents!  What those numbers did do  was to give me an
idea of the kind of stretch he wanted. When he was in Indy last month I did
Nothing special for him in the way of voicing or tuning.  When asked before
and after the concert if he liked the piano he said "on a scale of 1 to 10
the Piano was an 11.  I would say that was a success.  What I did
appreciate in his contract was the number of tunings requested to let the
rental piano settle in at the hall.  I wish more artist would communicate
their expectations in contracts.  Especially if the end result is when they
get to the hall they are as congenial as George. 

Bob


Robert S. Bussell
Registered Piano Technician, PTG
Indianapolis, Indiana,
rbussell@iquest.net