Modern Tone

[Horace Greeley]

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment

Hi, Dave!

At 08:27 PM 3/3/2005, you wrote:
>Tone quality is always an interesting topic to me.

Yup.


>Kind of THE interesting topic for piano wizards.

There's another topic?


>  I've gotten rid of a few recordings because I couldn't stand the voicing 
> of the piano.

I usually keep even the ones I do not like...often as not, it is some 
artist performing something that I particularly appreciate (like a good 
deal of stuff from Cortot and Curzon).  Equally often, I keep them as 
didactic tools - "...no, no, no...not like _this_...."


>me too---more than a few; most of Keith Jarrett's recordings, for one.

Except that then, you miss out on the genius quality of Keith's 
interpretations...no, they're not for the faint-hearted at times; however, 
there is always a reason for everything that he does...these are not simply 
tossed off "just because"...even if one does not agree (and, I often do 
not) with what he is has done, I have learned to appreciate what appears to 
be the process behind the end product.


>Voicing in a major league, world-class manner is a product of creating a 
>tonal memory; this is done by listening to great pianos however you 
>can.  The performance pianos recorded in the 40's and 50's were, by and 
>large, dark, powerful, clear, and throaty, with roar and snap at double or 
>triple forte, but NEVER clangy or distorted. IMHO.

Yup...this period was pretty well over by 1970, depending on artist and label.


>Modern recordings, while able to take advantage of pristine and precise 
>recording technology, often sound thin, bangy, and far away.

And, _that_ is being truly charitable.


>Thanks for your love of the craft, Barbara.

Indeed!


>More on this later.

I do hope so.

Best.

Horace

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/a0/01/48/e4/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--