Horowitz piano

[John Musselwhite]

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I'd like to put a slightly different spin on this thread, if you'll indul=
ge
me for a moment.=0D
=0D
Bob D writes:=0D
  =0D
<Yeah, I drove 50 miles to see it, only to find a nice enough, ordinary
model D. I pulled off the keyslip in the desperate hope that they had the
original action on a shelf somewhere, but no, it was the original frame w=
ith
new parts. What a loss. Not because it was wonderful, but perhaps because=
 it
was not.> =0D
 =0D
A fairly reliable rumour has it that the original parts still exist in
labelled boxes out of harm's way so they can be put back in someday, if t=
hat
eases anyone's mind at all. =0D
=0D
The piano is on tour and will be played, tuned and possibly serviced by m=
any
people until it is finally put away in a museum. In the interests of hist=
ory
I think it's far better that people be allowed to see, touch and play the
piano itself (and get the fancy certificate suitable for framing) with so=
me
compromise in the action rather than have thousands of people playing on =
the
original parts.  It would be a travesty for the old parts to wear beyond
recognition, be broken or even stolen as souvenirs (with suitable
replacements installed so no one will notice).=0D
 =0D
If I recall how he worded it, Franz Mohr stated that the new parts,
regulation and voicing would have met with the Maestro's approval. If tha=
t
is correct then it doesn't have to mean it was exactly the same as it was
before, just that he would have approved of it, though perhaps that might
have been when they were a lot younger.  It appeared to me to be regulate=
d
and voiced much like any other modern D by the time it got here, though t=
he
case and keys were just as battle-scarred as I remembered them to be. Tha=
t's
fine too, really. Isn't it better that you had the chance to lay your han=
ds
on the same keys the Maestro did than to merely have a banged-up piano wi=
th
a plaque on it behind a braided rope in some far away museum?=0D
 =0D
<would have been instructive to compare the extraordinary music Horowitz =
was
able to make on an instrument which was significantly outside the norm,
mechanically - to connect the influence of the machine with the music.>=0D
=0D
 =0D
Indeed it would have been. However, if you were the ten thousandth person=
 to
play it while it is on it's grand tour, would you be able to tell what wa=
s
Horowitz and what was just plain wear that other nameless people had put =
in
it? Would anyone ever get the chance to experience that feeling again in =
the
future?  As it is, or as I hope it is, the original parts will be kept in
storage and when the piano is finally put on display in the Smithsonian o=
r
wherever the only wear on them over the years will be what the Maestro (a=
nd
Franz Mohr) put there before they were removed. If they needed to go back=
 on
for research that would still be possible, but at least the piano could b=
e
used in the future for concerts or more tours without compromising the=20
historic" action parts.=0D
=0D
Of course, even having the "original" piano is complicated by all the oth=
er
little things about the piano that will change over the years. String
terminations, the strings themselves, the board condition, the pinblock a=
nd
even somewhat different regulating techniques will make the piano differe=
nt
now than it was the last time the Maestro played it in concert. Even if a=
ll
the parts were put back and regulated as it was before the piano will not=
 be
"the same" because it's aging, the Maestro has passed on and Franz has
retired. At least we have the piano, the memories, the discussions and th=
e
fabulous recordings.=0D
=0D
                     John=0D
=20
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