[CAUT] Fwd: liszt temp

Laurence Libin lelibin at optonline.net
Mon Jan 25 20:27:36 MST 2010


Yes, it can be revelatory. Start by listening to Claire Chevallier playing the Vallee d'Obermann on a gorgeous 1886 Erard. Carlo Dominici recorded Jeux d'eau on his ca. 1862 Erard that Liszt owned late in life; we displayed it at the Met about 2002. Daniel Grimwood has recorded Liszt on an earlier Erard. In good condition, those pianos are amazing. If you want to pursue it, look at www.pianosromantiques.com and talk with Robert Winter at UCLA. 
Laurence
  ----- Original Message -----  
  From: Fred Sturm 
  To: caut at ptg.org 
  Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 9:08 PM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] Fwd: liszt temp


  On Jan 25, 2010, at 12:34 PM, reggaepass at aol.com wrote:


    If anyone is motivated enough to pursue the matter with Liszt specialists, below are where/whom to ask (references by a Liszt-o-phile friend of mine whom I've been keeping abreast of this thread).


  Actually, a far more fruitful question to ask is what kind of piano would be appropriate. Liszt's career spanned the time from late Beethoven to the early modern piano, quite an amazing period of time for the development of the instrument. He would have played on straight strung all wood instruments to start with, and with light hammers covered in layers of felt/cloth and/or leather, accelerated at a very high ratio. The timbre would have varied considerably from top to bottom. He played on Viennese actions as well as early "English" and later double escapement. 
  These differences from the modern concert grand would be far more significant to both performer and audience than a very subtle change of temperament from ET, should one choose to go that route. I doubt many people have heard Liszt on an older design piano - I know I haven't - and it would probably be a revelation. OTOH, much easier said than done. The instrument has to be available, while a change in tuning is next to nothing.

  Regards,
  Fred Sturm
  University of New Mexico
  fssturm at unm.edu









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