Fortepiano pitch levels

[Stephen Birkett]

Dennis wrote:
>Right.   That was my point and I agree.  Unfortunately,  there is limited call
>for anything other than 440 at an undergraduate school, as others have pointed
>out.  On the other hand,  everyone knew what we were getting into before it
>was purchased.  If it is not compatible for certain uses- so be it.  It is
>what it is.

Yes and no. An historical builder would have shipped pianos from say Vienna 
to all sorts of places with all sorts of pitch levels, possibly as high as 
450 being not unusual. The framing/structure was generally not an issue, as 
most designs were capable of staying together at any of the typical pitches 
without changing to thinner wires. The issue was scaling and wire. A 
short-scaled piano like a Streicher would have had no trouble tuning to a 
high pitch without changing the scaling. [there is an amusing serires of 
letters from a disgruntled customer who claimed that Streicher had screwed 
up with resulting breaking strings when she tuned it to a high local 
pitch]. Other piano designs may have had to reduce the string lengths to 
maintain a safe stress margin on the wire, i.e. shipping a specially 
modified design to specific locales.

Modern builders. Well that is another story. Framing may be an issue - 
Rod's pianos do have a bit of a reputation for coming apart at the seams, 
so he's probably a little worried from that aspect. As for strings he ought 
to be able to tell you definitively whether strings will break at the 
higher pitch [no grey area, just a yes or no]. Simple calculation should 
give that answer based on the type of wire he used and his scaling.

If the fortepiano was intended for use at the music school primarily at 
440, why wasn't it ordered to be tuned at 440? A modern builder ought to be 
able to provide any required modifications to make it work.

But, to reiterate...historical fortepianos were sold to be used at many 
different pitches, some higher than 440.

Stephen

Stephen Birkett Fortepianos
Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos
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