> Nevertheless the tonal characteristics of a "good" Steinway make it > the best choice, I think, for any concert hall. I recall Klaus Fenner in the 1980s at one of the Pianoforte Tuners Association classes giving it as his opinion that Steinway was probably the best all-rounder for mixed repertoire in the concert hall. I'm interested in your comment, JD, about Fazioli lacking something in the sparkle department. A difficulty with judging different pianos in the concert hall environemnt, is perhaps that we don't get to hear enough of other makes to form an adequate judgement. I've been to lots of concerts and piano recitals in my time, and I would think at least 99% of them were on Steinway. I did hear Angela Hewitt playing Book One of the Well-tempered Klavier in the City Halls Glasgow, on her Fazioli. That was a wonderful recital at which I had a great seat, and I'd have gone back for Book Two had I not had another engagement. The Fazioli was good, certainly, and with perhaps less of the coolness or leanness that I find it has in recordings. I think it is worth touching on how pianos come across in recordings, because possibly the majority of piano listening is via recordings rather than in live situations. Of course this introduces all the vagaries of sound recording techniques. But recorded music consumption is surely significant to pianos. I do find, as I've mentioned, that the Fazioli can sound cool in recordings. In defence of Bosendorfer, I often find recordings of them aurally exciting, even if the treble is thin. I'm pretty enraptured with the sound of the Shigeru Kawai played by the late, great Earl Wild on his 88th Birthday CD, Earl Wild at 88 on the 88. (And on the amazing and moving CD he recorded at 90). The bass in the Marcello transcription is velvety and ravishing and the overall sound has warmth and fulness. My Wild's recordings on his previous Baldwin were also a good advocate for that brand - but perhaps his piano was a uniquely good example of a Baldwin. Has anybody else heard the sampler CD of the Stuart and Sons pianos, "A New Sound". Very interesting. And does anyone know of good recordings featuring a Steingraeber? (Various sound samples can be heard on the Hurstwood Farm Pianos website). Best regards, David Boyce. > A well-prepared Steinway is probably the best choice for a concert > hall that cannot afford to provide and maintain the 6 or 7 different > instruments that ought to be offered to musicians according to the > music to be played. The piano that is suitable for a Rachmaninoff > concerto is not suitable for a recital of Scarlatti or Bach, and for > these even the best-prepared Steinway will be a poor substitute for a > piano suited to the music in question. > > As to "artistes", they are generally quite ignorant of the > possibilities, since they, and the public, have been conditioned for > years and years to believe the Steinway is a Stradivari with three > legs. Half the Steinways I hear on the radio sound shockingly bad. I > think the public has no idea. So long as they can clap and holler at > the end they don't care what the piano sounds like provided it's > vaguely in tune. > > If a Steinway is good, the credit goes 90% to the technicians, tuners > and toners who bring it to life and 10% to Steinway for providing the > raw, very raw, materials. > > Nevertheless the tonal characteristics of a "good" Steinway make it > the best choice, I think, for any concert hall. I've never heard a > good Yamaha, I hate the Bösendorfer. Kawai is a fine piano but their > marketing hasn't been good enough. The Fazioli is beautifully made > but seems to lack something in the sparkle department, etc. etc. > > The greatest shame is that for years and years nearly all the others > have been taking the Steinway sound as the standard. It is only on > the rare occasions that you hear music performed on a very different > instrument that you realise that the Steinway sound is not the only > possible flavour, and in many cases it is far from the most suitable. > The great pianists of 100 years ago most certainly did not all prefer > the Steinway, even when it was a lot better than it is today.
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