[CAUT] 1850's Pleyel Grand

[Fred Sturm]

On 11/26/07 12:38 PM, "Richard Brekne" <ricb at pianostemmer.no> wrote:

> Hi folks.
> 
> Just ran into this instrument tonite... couldnt help myself so I bought
> it on the spot.  Wont say for how much as I really dont know whether
> I've paid too much or got it cheap.  Its functional but will need quite
> a bit of work to come up to snuff.  Pin block is more or less shot and I
> suppose the old board really has seen far better days. Looks very nice tho.
> 
> The thing is from 1850 or so...  serial number 18XXX
> 
> http://www.pianostemmer.no/images/Pleyel.jpg
> 
> 
> Anyone having any good words of advice for me please be sure to share
> them either in public or in private.
> 
> Cheers
> RicB
> 
Hi Ric,
    If you have second thoughts, send it over here. I'd love to have it. Not
sure I could afford the shipping, though <G>.
    I'll put in a word for retaining the existing action and its various
specs, as in ratio and weight (rebuild parts as needed, and replicate hammer
weight/denstity). And string it with Pure Sound.
    I had a wonderful experience with a Pleyel from, I think, the early 20th
century, 190-200 cm or so, this past May. Playing on it was a revelation,
and I have played on thousands of instruments. I found I was able to simply
"sing with my fingers," it was so easy to create subtle expressive shadings.
Foreground/background, little crescendos and diminuendos, accents wherever I
wanted them. I tried to analyze why (unfortunately I was a tourist, and
lacked anything to take any measurements, besides being in the situation of
a guest of a family, with very limited time and oppportunity), and came to
the tentative conclusion that it was a combination of low hammer weight
(strike weight, if you will) and high ratio. Whatever I would normally do on
a modern American piano was magnified.
    At any rate, best of luck in restoring it to glory.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico