[CAUT] Intermission Touch-ups

[James Ellis]

I've been following this interesting discussion about intermission tuning
touch-ups.  Fred Sturm is right:  The brass harpsichord strings don't
behave like the steel - as one would expect.  Alan McCoy is right:  A rapid
rise in temperature takes the organ sharp, and the harpsichord flat - also
as one should expect.  Wim is also on target:  There is a vast difference
between the stability of a piano and a harpsichord.

Twenty two years ago, after Andre Watts had given the piano a hard workout
(just short of breaking a string or two) during a full-length solo concert,
I asked him if he wanted me to touch up a couple of treble unisons during
intermission.  He said "no".  I noticed that someone else on this list had
a similar experience.  (I don't beat the stuffings out of the piano when I
tune, but I don't normally have stability problems either.)

Prior to a dress rehearsal for a Brahms concerto a few years ago, the
oboist complained that the piano was sharp.  It was a cold day in mid
January, with ice and snow on the ground, and the orchestra had just come
in to warm up.  I told the conductor that the piano was not sharp, and he
agreed.  

The point of my comments is this:  Too many musicians do not know anything
about the physics of the instruments they play.

Sincerely, Jim Ellis