Comments interspersed. ----- Original Message ----- > Enid replies to this, >Just because the harmonies are "active" doesn't mean that it cannot >give one an experience of "singingness". I never said that WT precluded giving this type of interpretation, but in my opinion, it doesn't necessarily enhance it. >"Tranquil" is HIS (D.Love's) word. Yes, my interpretation. >Are we to believe that Beethoven was oblivious to the character of this > key? I don't imagine that Beethoven wasn't aware of tuning. But that's what was available. Do you imagine if Beethoven could play his pieces on a modern concert grand that he would prefer the pianos of his day? >As Enid said, "The dissonance is not > necessarily harshness, it can also a measure of expressiveness". You can look at it that way, but that doesn't mean that it is. I prefer the expressiveness a well crafted phrase. If you need the tuning to create expression more practice is in order. >places greater interpretive importance on the technician than should be there. << >Says who? As I said, that is my personal philosophy, it clearly differs from yours. >It doesn't require decision making from a musical > standpoint, at all. It is (or has been) a safe refuge from critique. I can think of many other ways to impose my personal creativity on setting up a piano. But pianists might not prefer it. It is not a matter of safety. As I said before, a WT might be fine for one piece but not for another. That doesn't mean that one counldn't find some way to enjoy the one for which it was not suited, but then it becomes a bit of a crap shoot. A temperament is a compromise by definition. I prefer to set up a piano so that it has the broadest capacity for expression. By using a WT you inevitably compromise certain kinds of music for which it is not well suited. I've never had a pianist say about ET that it is not expressive enough. I have had pianists say about WT that in certain keys it sounds out of tune. So my choice is to not impose limitations on the instrument which WT's tend to do to varying degrees (depending on how extreme the temperament is). One-quarter comma meantone clearly has more limitations than Broadwood's best. > Choosing a style of tuning that we know wasn't available to the >author is, in effect, creating a transcription. I completely disagree. > The " tenuous connection" is far less tenuous when there is more > emotional rapport, I couldn't agree more, I just differ on who is responsible for creating that emotional rapport. >I have found the WT's create this greater interaction between performer and audience as well as between performer and instrument. I'm not sure how you can say this. How do you know that it is the WT creates a greater interaction? This is psuedo science. > If a tuner sees his job as maximizing the musical experience, then >all alternatives must be considered. If the tuner sees his job as >making everything as safe as possible, then only ET will do. Try attaching a tin can to middle C for the Waldstein. You'll keep all the old farts awake and create a performance that no one will ever forget. > "lack of skill and ego" have to do with any of this. I tend to think that this argument is more about politics and ego than musical taste. > We all take our choices and choosing safety over daring is not >what Beethoven did or was known for. I don't think I want to be remembered by "well, he was a daring tuner". Even though I appreciate the difficulty of the job we do and take great pride in my work, to compare tuning with Beethoven's compositional skill and creativity would suggest we're getting a wee bit full of ourselves. Clearly, we just disagree. David Love
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