Bad Concert Piano?

[Farrell]

The post about Olga Kern got me thinking. I know so little about concert prep and what a piano should sound like on a stage - I'm not sure I even know exactly what to ask here. Some observations then.

Last week I went to a concert featuring Italian violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg who was accompanied by American-born pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. McDermott played a Steinway D with the lid propped open. The concert was at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. The hall has received many awards for its superior acoustics (I have been to numerous concerts there before where I found the sound to be perfect). The hall was half-filled with people and I sat in the very middle of the hall.

Do I get any demerits if I mention on this list that Nadja is quite attractive?

The piano NEVER overpowered the violin - and that woman was working on that piano - at least her hair was flying enough to suggest it (excellent piano hair - long Art Garfunkel type). The piano sounded lovely on quiet passages - very soft and delicate - blended with the violin perfectly (was thinking peas and carrots - but that won't do - we need roses and something....). But on loud, aggressive passages it seemed to me the voice of the piano never changed, but simply got a bit louder - it was the same soft tone, but louder because the pianist was hammering on the keys. The tone was so soft, the notes sounded like mush as she played - no definition. I expected some element of brilliance and life to come out of the piano at the louder volume, but never heard it.

All else being equal - won't a big piano with the lid open generally overpower one violin (can't 980 lbs. overpower, what, about 3 lbs.)?

Does what I am describing make sense? Were my expectations the "norm" (I certainly realize tastes vary - and we are talking piano tone here)? Was it the piano? Was it the voicing (concert prep)? Was it the hall? Do I need to get my head (ears) examined? Is it possible the piano tech voiced the hammers super-soft so that the piano did not blast away the violin? But then why not just put the lid down and let the piano maintain some dynamics?

Any thoughts on this?

BTW: Fabulous, fabulous concert - in spite of anything I thought about the piano. That young lady can play that there little fiddle! The ears and eyes were smiling all evening!

Terry Farrell