Greetings, Gina writes: <<No matter how our individual ears hear it, it is Beethoven's music, with all its splendor, that matters.>> I agree, and thanks for the kind words. One thing that does concern me is that the intention of our project may be misunderstood. I am not attempting to promote the modern piano as the only way to play this music, I am trying to improve the music we hear. Comparisons of the fortepianos to the Steinway D are difficult to do, they both have strengths and weaknesses for any given piece of music. It is a fact that the dearth of fortepianos requires that modern instruments be used for the majority of perfomance, so my approach is "how best to use them?". It was my conclusion that using the more era-specific tuning would be an improvement over modern ET. This is not to say that the instrument is a total improvement in every respect. I suppose the question is, is classical music performed on modern pianos improved by WT? I think it is, thus, I have "put my money where my ears are". Until we have more instruments that are authentic in their sound, ( keep those saws running, Stephen!!(:)}} we will be forced to use the modern counterparts. Is it not plausible that an increased awareness and appreciation of the sound of the older tunings could help increase the desire and pursuit of the older instruments from which they arose? Regards, Ed Foote
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