Glenn Gould & Yamaha Preference

[Farrell]

Does anyone know why Glenn Gould switched from mostly playing Steinways to
playing Yamahas for the latter part of his life? I know he had his favorite
Chickering when young, etc.

I gave my wife two tapes of Glenn Gould performances for Christmas. One was
recorded in about 1970 on a Steinway (Beethoven selections, including the
Emperor Concerto - wooooaah!) and the other recorded in the mid 1980s? on a
Yamaha (Bach's Goldberg Variations - Wowee Zowee!). My wife also has a
biography of Mr. Gould that details his preference for pianos and states
that during the latter portion of his career he switched to Yamaha pianos.

While I like the Yamahas quite a bit, they do seem to me to lack a bit of
sustain and tonal depth as compared to a hi-end European or American piano.
I see similar opinions on this list time and time again. Some of the
tendency for brightness seems to me the reason that many jazz and pop
musicians like the Yamahas. But a classical musician that is (presumably)
looking for the maximum in tonal dynamic extremes and sustain seems more
likely to want the hi-end European or American pianos. No? Why did he like
the Yamaha so much? Is it because he played Bach so much and the Yamaha
sounds more like a harpsicord (little sustain and no resource for soft and
loud - an exaggeration here, obviously) than other pianos?

Just curious. I'm constantly trying to expand my knowledge of this eternally
grey area of piano technology.

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com