[CAUT] Unauthorized "prepared pianos"

[Porritt, David]

Paul:

 

I don't know what to do in your situation, however, I know I'd never
stop a performance.  I have, admittedly, a different view of this job.
It's the faculty and administration's job to run the school and my job
to fix the damage.  I'd certainly report any activity I perceived as
destructive, but beyond reporting I don't see it as my job to be the
piano police.   So, a student plans to prepare a piano in a destructive
way.  I'd report that to the appropriate faculty person and get their
input.  If they say don't let him/her do that, I'd stop them.  If the
faculty person said to allow it I'd make sure that they know that they
are responsible for the damage and leave it alone.  The damage repair
can come out of their budget not mine.

 

dave

 

 

David M. Porritt, RPT

dporritt at smu.edu <mailto:dporritt at smu.edu> 

 

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Paul T Williams
Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2008 10:27 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: [CAUT] Unauthorized "prepared pianos"

 


Hi List, 

In the last two weeks, our best Steinway D has been damaged by
unauthorized "prepared" piano use twice!  The first occurrance was three
weeks ago during our "Clarifest Day" where a guest artist, without
permission started banging on the right cheekblock and side of the rim
with his fist.  He pounded so hard it knocked loose the cheek screw and
was causing a clicking in the upper regesters.  I was called from home
to come down to fix it, and fortunately it was indeed only the loose
screw. 

The second time was this week; a student composer used a mallet and
banged on the plate and severely bent up several bass damper heads AND
strumming the strings with a wire brush.  The stage manager, the
professor of composition, and I were not told this was going to take
place and this student beleives he is going to demonstrate it again in
the same hall and in our smaller recital room that also has a "D".   The
assistant stage manager (in charge that evening) SHOULD have stopped the
pre-performance rehersal and swapped out the Steinway for our semi-
decent Yamaha C-3.   I'm not sure how to prevent the abuse of prepared
pianos.  The faculty doesn't seem to care or think about it, except for
the piano faculty, of course.   

Do I have a right to prevent such use/abuse?  Could I actually step in
and stop a performance?  Should I?  How do you all get faculty and
students to get this in their fat heads that this behaviour is not OK?
He could have cracked the plate!!! 

Concerned 

Paul T. Williams 

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