Piano placement for concerto

[Phillip Ford]

Yes, it was in Davies.  I'm not sure what you mean by sound reinforcement.

Phil F

At 07:35 PM 3/31/03 , you wrote:
>Was this in Davies hall if not which one?   Did they use "sound
>reinforcement"?     ----rm
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Phillip Ford <fordpiano@earthlink.net>
>To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
>Sent: Monday, March 31, 2003 6:17 PM
>Subject: Piano placement for concerto
>
>
> > Over the weekend I went to a concert by the San Francisco
>Symphony.  Jean-Philippe Collard was the piano soloist in the
>Poulenc concerto.  The piano placement was a first for me.  The
>piano had been placed in the center of the orchestra with the tail
>up against the conductor's podium and the keyboard away from the
>audience so that when the pianist was seated he was facing the
>conductor and the audience.  The top of the piano had been
>removed.
> > In terms of coordination between pianist and conductor this
>arrangement seems to make a lot more sense than the conventional
>arrangement.
> > In this hall, from my usual seat in the first balcony, the piano
>sound was dramatically different than it is with the usual
>placement of piano center left at front of stage, pianist in
>profile, and lid up.  The piano sounded much more part of the
>ensemble rather than like a separate voice detached from the
>orchestra.  Also, the balance of the piano sound was altered.  The
>midrange and treble were more pronounced with the bass being less
>dominant.  To my ears concert pianos often have an overdominant
>bass end.  That was not the case in this concert.  The pianist
>could still get a powerful bass sound when he wanted, and he
>occasionally did, but for 'normal' playing the piano sound had a
>better balance for my taste.  Also, for better or worse, you could
>not see the pianists hands, so your attention was not diverted by
>watching him play, and you could concentrate on listening to him
>play.
> > I also thought it was refreshing to see both conductor and
>pianist using a score (and turning their own pages) rather than
>working from memory.
> >
> > Phil F