"New" Hamburg Hammers

[jolly roger]

Hi Mike,
              Thank's, an excellent over view, you kind of confirmed some
of my gut reactions.
Regards Roger

>
>    As of the pianists who played the two pianos at Cincinnati, I believe I
>know several reasons she "preferred the new D".
>She said, "I just feel a little more comfortable with it".  Like new
software,
>or a new car,  a more powerful piano with better touch response takes some
>getting used to.  This just isn't done in twenty minutes infront of others.
>     The second reason are those Giant Renner Gross-6 hammers.  This girls'
>flagship work was a Scriabin Etude which  demands tremendous dynamic
contrasts,
>and great physical force and speed.    One of Howowitzs' flagship works,
it is
>easiest played on a lacqueritus D with a light touch.  She was a small girl
>asked to play this repeatedly, something most pianists probably couldn't do,
>especailly with a higher touchweight.
>       When I played, I perceived a slightly higher touch weight on the
'29 D.
>There was tremendous sustain (Wapin), and an almost uncanny evenness of
>response (Stanwood).  It was possible to attain much lower Pianissimo without
>risk. Without time with the piano, (like hours), it is not possible to fully
>utilize that safely.   It was like playing in air, almost a surreal
>perfection.  It did not feel like a Steinway, but similar in character to
some
>European pianos. The New D was like an old friend, very similar to our three
>year old D, in tone and touch.  Eric reported its' strike weights were "All
>over the Place" which I'm sure is typical.  I'll bet some hammer shanks are
>doing ten swings which would help in that Scriabin.  It was like turning in a
>nice new rental car for my aging Taurus, which like an old friend, is
>comfortable with all its' faults.
>      Evenness and delicate precision matters most in Mozart and other
>classical period music, but is not fully noted in virtuoso heavy works .  The
>Scriabin primarily sustains bass tones, (something even the poorest concert
>grands do well).   A weak killer octave would be a problem in that work, but
>neither piano appeared suffer that .  I don't believe the music allowed Wapin
>to be fully displayed.
>     Eric also mentioned that faculty are generally choosing the new D for
>their concerts and he wishes they would use the '29 D more.  My experience
has
>been that pianos develop reputations which are not easily broken.  As it
>evolved from an old rattle trap to its' present state in gradual stages, the
>differences may not have been fully appreciated.  Pianists view their
recitals
>as life and death issues.  Would you care to ride an airliner that had a
>history of problems or a "negative reputation" and had some experimental
things
>done to it?  This makes it an uphill battle and will take some objective
>visitors.  Sadly, most visiting artists are going to get the "Scoop" on the
>instruments on their ride in from the airport having their objectivity
clouded.
>
>-Mike
>