Temperament, A pianist responds

Billbrpt@AOL.COM Billbrpt@AOL.COM
Sun, 9 Dec 2001 21:32:55 EST


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In a message dated 12/9/01 8:04:23 PM Central Standard Time, A440A@AOL.COM
 writes:


> So when David decries "imposing a personal taste in tuning that is not 
> appropriate to the piece",  I must respond that I see the use of 20th 
> century 
> tuning for 18th and 19th century music as a far more dramatic example of 
> imposing personal tastes, and  that any almost any form of WT would provide 
> less of an imposition.   
> 
This is the best commentary I've seen in a long time.  The resistance to what 
should be obvious, however is frustrating, to say the least.  I've been 
searching the Web for sites on Temperament.  As I've always witnessed and 
suspected, the people who only want ET are unshakable in their beliefs.  
They'll invent almost *anything* to support their beliefs and just shrug off 
any historical documentation as *meaningless*.

Owen Jorgensen wrote an excellent article which appeared in this month's 
Journal.  Not to let it go unchallenged, however, the resident Southern 
Wisconsin *Equaholic*, Editor (read *supreme commander and dictator*) of the 
Journal (and incidentally a charter member of the Madison Chapter who changed 
his allegiance to Milwaukee over the issue), Bob Hohf managed to get his 
cheap shots in on the editorial page.

According to him, anything but ET is simply wrong.  A piano in a "historical 
tuning" as he puts it, is tuned incorrectly.  In the same opinion, he seems 
to think that temperament and even tone don't really matter, except if the 
temperament has deliberately been a historical one.  What he doesn't know is 
that the joke is really on him.  As most people who believe in this hard line 
ET only thinking, what he really tunes habitually is Reverse Well.

If I am to believe what seems to be the majority opinion, you are wrong, Ed.  
Beethoven thought and wrote in ET and it's high time we end this ridiculous 
and meaningless folly of a discussion.  As the Steinway people always say, 
"No artist *ever* asked for it" (and they'll make damn sure none ever will!).

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin
 <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> 

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