[CAUT] Adams 1/4 tone sharp piano

[Wolfley, Eric (wolfleel)]

I found out this morning that the piece they are doing is "On The Transmigration of Souls" which Adams wrote for the NY Philharmonic after the 9/11 attacks. Premiered Sept., 2002.

 

I just pulled the piano up 50 cents with no protests or breakage. I wore eye protection. This Baldwin M is from the mid 60s with the original strings. There are even some string splices in the last capo section which have held just fine.

 

I've never tuned a piano this sharp before, but so far - so good.

 

Eric Wolfley, RPT 
Head Piano Technician 
Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music 
University of Cincinnati 

________________________________

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Horace Greeley
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 6:52 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Adams 1/4 tone sharp piano

 


Hi, Eric,

...Been there...Done that...your plan is just fine...harder to get it back down than to get it up, as it were.

Is there anything on the program that might be upset by that tuning?  And/or, is there anything that requires other preparation?  Depending on the condition of the Baldwin, it is in my mind to suggest using an instrument with newish strings...returning to "normal" pitch might be less treacherous.

Best.

Horace

At 02:32 PM 3/22/2006, you wrote:




Hi All,

I've just had a request to tune a piano ¼ tone sharp for a John Adams piece for rehearsals and concert in the next weeks. Can anyone who has done this before give me some idea of what I'm in for besides the destabilization factor. I'm going to use a Baldwin M we usually let people use for prepared piano stuff.

Thanks,

Eric

Eric Wolfley, RPT

Head Piano Technician

Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

University of Cincinnati

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