Fred, List, "Whale" was performed here a year or two ago and if I remember correctly, we moved a Yamaha C-3 Disklavier from the pianist's studio for it. To my knowledge, there were no problems with it. He's also performed that piece on a D at A & M Univ. but as he said, with great difficulty. Something about having to find different nodes and sounding an octave higher. In this case, there was just no other alternative. Avery >Just to expand and be more specific as to some places a D won't work for >Voice of the Whale (which I performed a couple months ago on a Steinway >A - the only available house piano in the venue - so have a recent >memory of the problem spots). The most prominent places where a D/B/A >won't work are >1) Second movement (Theme, I think called "Sea-Time"). The octaves with >included 5th held silently by left hand while strummed by right include >F2 and F#2 as upper notes. These are, of course, on the other side of >the break, so are practically speaking impossible to include in the >strum. And the highest note is part of the theme, hence absolutely >essential. >2) Last movement (Coda, something about "End of Time"). At the beginning >of this movement there are several three note clusters (adjacent >semitones) played by the left hand while the right touches nodes at the >5th partial - just beyond the dampers. A couple of these nodes are >inaccessible on the D/B/A. Also, toward the end, the final echo of the >tympani from Also Sprach Zarathustra requires a similar touching of >inaccessible nodal points. And it's one of the highlights of the whole >piece, IMO. > There are a couple other spots, but this should be enough to make the >point to a doubter that a D is definitely not the right instrument for >Crumb, even if he is a distinguished guest and "therefore worthy of the >best the venue has to offer." >Regards, >Fred > >Fred Sturm wrote: >> >> I'll just repeat here what I have written a couple times previous, and >> which others have confirmed. Crumb's music for inside the piano was >> written at the model L in his office. The layout of the strings >> (particularly the bass break) makes many of his effects specific to this >> or similar model pianos (eg, Steinway M, Baldwin M). A model D (or A or >> B) Steinway is problematic for many effects. So if it were me, I would >> inform the powers that be (starting lower on the totem pole with piano >> faculty, and pointing out in a couple scores how this is so - Vox >> Balaenae and Makrokosmos are good) that an alternate piano would serve >> the purpose better. (And, BTW, it is likely that a small Yamaha or Kawai >> might _not_ be a good alternate, due to cross struts at the far side of >> the dampers. Makes it hard to obtain 5th partials and to do "chisel on >> the strings" among other problems). >>
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