Pitch

[Robin Hufford]

John,
     While at the Steinway seminar in New York in 1987 I was told by a person I
considered most knowledgeable, that he had seen the forks for the factory from
the period of the 1890's.  Some were at A-440; this was called "soft" pitch.
Others were  457" and called "hard" pitch.  One and the same piano could be
tuned to either pitch, a fact that probably causes scale designer enthusiasts to
throw their hands up.   The factory did not change wire sizes in anticipation of
one piano being used at one level or the other.  I think you are right on the
money as regards the rise in pitch you speak of and the agreement required to
bring it down and stabilize it.
Regards, Robin Hufford

John Delacour wrote:

> At 5:23 PM -0800 1/10/02, Robert Wilson wrote:
>
> >Joe,
> >How can you say that,  Chopin heard all his music a
> >semi-tone flat by today's standards.  How can you say
> >it isn't just as beautiful at the pitch he knew?
>
> With A at 415 c/s ?!  Who told you that?
>
> 1834 -- Paris Conservatoire fork -- 435.4 c/s
>
> >I learned on a Victorian piano at old pitch, and accepted that it
> >was a semi-tone flat.
>
> Which "old pitch".  Almost every pitch in the world by 1870 was
> sharper than A=440.  In London 1878, Collard tuned at 449.9, Erard at
> 455.3, Steinway at 454.7 and Chappell at 455.9 -- or roughly "Old
> Philharmonic"
>
> The Victorian age witnessed a steady RISE in pitch to an unacceptable
> level which was finally brought down by international agreement.
>
> Don't take my word for it; read the long and detailed appendix in Helmholtz.
>
> JD