piano differences

[John Musselwhite]

At 09:27 PM 1/30/98 -0600, James wrote:

>	Last year at the Van Cliburn competition we were told that they were ...
>where the Hamburg was used some.  Why not the Kawai.  I believe that the
>artists know that to win they have to subscribe to what they believe is the
>winning sound, the American Steinway.  It doesn't matter that another make

I don't necessarily agree with that sentiment.  B-})  At the last Esther
Honens (admittedly not the most famous competition, but a very good one)
the stable of pianos even included a nine foot Samick grand, which one
artist chose for a solo performance. All the finalists chose the NY D
simply because it was the piano most clearly heard in the hall at all
dynamic levels, IMO.

As an aside, there is an excellent video tape about the Honens which talks
a fair bit about the pianos with some scenes with Karl Roeder that has been
seen on PBS and is available for purchase through their WWW site. In
typically Calgarian fashion The Esther Honens Festival is volunteer-driven
and involves the whole city in a musical version of the 1988 Winter
Olympics. We are fortunate here to have several international music
festivals here, offering many opportunities for volunteering For pipe organ
buffs we have the Calgary International Organ Festival, which is similar in
scope to the Honens. While I'm blowing Calgary's musical horn I might add
we also host the World Championships of Marching Showbands every four years
as well as an international marching band festival every year (I'm a
full-time volunteer for that). Our chapter of the PTG is one of the
sponsors of a local annual concerto competition as well, which features
some excellent musicians on all instruments. 

But I digress...

>might be better or different.  The critics are listening to one thing, the
>Steinway sound.  Because the participants know this they perform on the
>same.  

One thing critics listen to, and performers spend a great amount of time
learning, is pedal technique. We know that the pedals on a Steinway do not
feel quite the same as the pedals on other pianos due to the design of the
damper tray. As a performer, if I've spent years practicing my pedal
technique on a Steinway I am not going to switch to a piano with different
pedals for the concert that may determine the direction in which my career
is headed. In the same way, if I've been playing a Kawai most of the time
that's what I'd probably play in the final concert mostly because I was
used to the pedals.

>Claqssical music is so narrow of a range as far as sound goes that
>it isn't funny any more.  

I didn't think classical music was supposed to be "funny", actually. Isn't
that more Peter Shickele's bag?  B-})  When I think that "classical" music
can be played on everything from my clavichord in the next room to a
concert grand with almost everything in between, each with their own
charactaristics, I feel it's quite a broad range.

>In order to be taken seriously you have to
>perform on a B or D.  Nothing else seems to matter.  I'm sure that there
>are other pianos out there which can do a suitable job for the music.  And
>who says you have to have a 7-9' piano to always perform these works.

The size of the hall and the piece of music dictates that, IMO. In an 1,800
seat hall you won't be putting an L (or a six-foot anything) on the stage
for any performance because tone in the delicate passages will be lost to
the background noise and there won't be enough power to give the music any
impact. In a small hall (like 200 seats) it's different. If you have an
orchestra behind you it demands a big piano just to be heard over the other
instruments.

The music itself can determine the right piano too, I think.  I'd rather
hear intimate music played in a small hall on an L than in a big hall on a
D for example. 

>There are many 6' pianos that are just as capable except for the low bass
>as the 7-9' pianos.  Why can't we hear classical works on the more popular
>size pianos that the average person can afford.

We do... at least here in our town we do. They aren't heard in the big
concert halls because often they CAN'T be heard in them. A six-foot piano
is sometimes called a "living room" grand. They sound great in a living
room. Putting them on a stage in a larger hall (over 200 seats say) is like
putting a transistor radio in a disco. It doesn't have the power to handle
the room.

As for your question about hearing classical works on the more "popular"
sized pianos, in the last year I've attended public concerts here in
Calgary played on many different pianos, although they aren't on any of the
MAJOR stages or by major players. Very few are played on Steinways, either.
For example, tonight there is a piano and piano/cello concert in a local
church by local concert artists and the piano is an ancient rebuilt
Chickering 109C. Recently another church held a classical concert on their
new Yamaha C-1 and the Italian-Canadian club brought in an artist all the
way from Rome to perform on their Boston grand in their auditorium. I can
think of at least a half-dozen public venues off the top of my head where
pianos the "average person could afford" can be heard as well as more than
a few private homes where formal concerts are held on "average-sized" pianos. 

As I mentioned, we don't hear those same pianos on large concert stages
because they don't generate enough sound to be heard on those stages.
Artists play big Steinways on those stages because they have a big sound
and they are used to the way the Steinway action and pedals feel. Some
artists prefer other brands of pianos for the same reasons. They will play
a big piano regardless, because it can be heard and because it's part of
the show.

			John


John Musselwhite, RPT  - Calgary, Alberta Canada 
musselj@cadvision.com - http://www.cadvision.com/musselj/