Hi Micheal I am all for Diversity... and I hear your point loud and clear. For that matter I agree 110 % as far as it goes. My point was simply that from what I've observed out there in the world, this same diversity seems more often then not accompanied by, if not downright a result of, some lessened degree of attention paid to what is purchased and why... and how things are to be maintained. I see that the all Steinway concept seems to create an aura around piano maintenance that counter acts this. And one which attracts a certain degree of quality with regard to teachers and students. This is of course debatable but there are some statistics out there that should be looked at when drawing conclusions about the whole thing. The basic question is whether that general increase in quality all around, to whatever degree it is valid, is worth the sacrifice in diversity that is required. I certainly would prefer an all Steinway School relationship to many of the school situations I've seen around America and Europe. That said... I've not been to many of the major music universities to observe the condition and general quality of their piano parks, how they are taken care of and in general how piano technology is viewed/appreciated. We get quickly back into the earlier discussion we had about CAUT certification here. Cheers RicB Diversity is the message behind this all. Diversity helps the universe: wether it be populations within society, diversity of opinions, diversity of organic life, diversity of ideas and creativity, or diversity of instruments. With diversity we are insuring the future success of the acoustic piano, without it we are relegating good musicianship and enjoyment of acoustical piano music to a privleged (sp) few. Perhaps, this is what Steinway would perfer. Kudos to the faculty of ASU. Sorry my spell check does not work.
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