The temperaments

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Avery writes: 
>    Just as kind of an aside on this subject, a DMA piano performance
>major talked to me today about doing a Marpurg I and an ET on two of
>our D's for a Lecture Recital he has to do for his degree. He'll be
>playing Chopin.
> One of our theory professors took a class with Owen and has told
>him that Owen said he was pretty convinced that Chopin used a
>Marpurg. Comments?

Greetings, 
     It is obviously impossible to know what tuning was in Chopin's mind when 
he composed,  but there are several logical choices.  
    During Chopin's lifespan, intonation changed.  Did he, early on  form his 
impressions while listening to well tempered pianos?  Very likely.  Could he 
have preferred Mr. Hipkins tuning, (said to be equal temperament)?  Just as 
likely.  
    What about the the DeMorgan tuning that Owen writes about?  It makes a 
profound difference in Chopin's music, and is  a contender by chronological 
proximity and its color effects.  
   I would suggest that a side by side comparison of ET with something like 
the "Broadwood's Best" or, if you really wanted to be contemporary, use one 
of Jim Coleman's Victorian temperaments, perhaps his # 14.    A Young would 
offer a very workable, graduated series of tonal steps that you could make 
decisions upon.  
   In the final analysis,  the only way to determine the best tuning is to 
listen to several that history tells us were possibilities and make a value 
judgement based on what you hear.  Many musicians are fearful at this point.  
To a musician that knows temperaments only as a jumble of names and changes, 
choice itself can be fraught with peril.  However, a technician knowledgable 
about the evolution of our tuning can be a guide in these matters, and 
quickly become a more valued opinion. 
     As we change from 20th century intonation to whatever is next, (and 
there will be a next),  the  major intonational influences could come from 
the professional tuning technicians, it could crawl out of a computer, or 
both,  who knows?  A better understanding of 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th 
century tonality may be a prerequisite to intonation's next step, and if so, 
we as technicians get to take part in changing the course of music.  (Change 
is the only constant!  Get on the great mandela! The answer is blowing in the 
windows of little tuning machines and big, (well) read books).  
    If you are really fortunate, you can find enough local pianists to start 
a movement!(:)}}  

Regards, 
Ed Foote