Years ago I curated an exhibit of 21 Guarneri del Gesu violins and a recital involving 19 of them. The tonal differences among them were very considerable, even allowing for different bows used by different players, so it was clear there's no such thing as a distinctive Guarneri sound any more than there is a particular Strad sound; they both cover broad, overlapping spectra.
Very very few connoisseurs, if any, can reliably identify a violin's maker from its sound.
With pianos (and much more with organs) it's easier to separate the sound of the instrument from its manifestation under the fingers of different players, but even so it's hard to define, and even harder to characterize the sound of a manufacturer's whole output, even of one model. Logically to identify a uniquely Steinway D sound (even a 1990s NY D sound) you'd have to show that no other piano's tonal characteristics overlap with the D's. But it can be very hard to identify different manufacturers' pianos by ear in a blind test because parameters overlap. I've demonstrated this for discerning listeners, and you'd be surprised how few can tell a Steinway from a Bechstein or Yamaha, much less a NY D from a Hamburg, under controlled conditions.
I suppose generic differences might be more audible up close from the player's and tech's standpoints than to an audience in a hall, but my point is that there's such a wide range of acceptable variation among even recent NY D's that the notion of a specific "Steinway sound" seems vague if not quite subjective. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I could tell my O apart from any other piano's sound because I'm intimately familiar with its quirks, those idiosyncracies that give it character.
It would be interesting to get 20 experienced RPTs to try to synthesize "Steinway sound" by sophisticated digital means, and then compare the results. I'd bet no two would be identical and the extremes would be far apart. Then get them to synthesize other manufacturers' concert grands, and compare the averages for each. Then do the whole thing over with concert performers instead of RPTs, since performers would likely have a rather different set of aural experiences. I've no idea what this would accomplish, but it could be fun, and at least the data would be quantified.
Laurence
----- Original Message -----
From: Fred Sturm
To: caut at ptg.org
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 12:19 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway "sound"
On Feb 14, 2011, at 6:11 PM, David Love wrote:
Yes, we have been there and I think I knew what you were getting at. At some risk I think there is a sound. It can vary some of course, but I would characterize it generally as open and deriving from a soundboard assembly that leans to the lighter side. The rebuilds that I hear that really differ are not necessarily those that employ different bellying methods (cc versus RC&S) but those that vary the overall stiffness of the assembly by use large cutoff bars, heavier rib scales, steeper grain angles and/or scale changes which collectively tend to produce a less free and tighter sound. Not a bad sound but a more controlled one in which the upper end (fff) is more restricted. Now I think I better bow out and let the retort’s fly.
I think these comments are spot on. I don't have the experience to be able to tell what the soundboard changes do in isolation, as the "Frankensteinways" I have played have had additional changes as well, but the overall effect has been, for those I have played, as you describe. Calling it a more controlled sound with a more restricted high end is a good way to put it. As a pianist, it is as if you go from a race car to a luxury sedan. Maybe more comfortable and controllable, but less exciting and with less possibility of sudden change or big contrast.
But I think you have to include a number of other factors in the so-called "Steinway sound" (maybe the late 20th century Steinway sound is more precise): characteristic front and back duplex; relatively high inharmonicity from the scale; lacquered hammers that are on the heavy side. All these together with the fairly light CC board tend to favor high partials at attack, depending how the voicing is set up. And that is where I hear a more or less characteristic sound that contrasts with other makes and models.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
fssturm at unm.edu
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/FredSturm
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