John Musselwhite wrote: >I'm not sure whether anyone from Steinway is actually reading the list yet, >but your message has been forwarded to Michael Mohr (who does not yet have >email access)... I'll post a reply when I get a response. >BTW, has anyone read "The Steinway Saga" by D.W. Fostle >yet? I think they've been reading the postings from the Piano Page. I was criticized by someone unnamed for mentioning the Japanese government inquiry into the Japanese Steinway dealership. Michael Mohr told me in Albuquerque that he'd be getting on soon. I started the Steinway Saga book on the airplane going to ABQ. I haven't gotten too far yet - about 1/4 of the way through only. So far I have mixed reactions - there is a lot of detail about the early activities of the family, but some of the arguments and conclusions drawn therefrom by the author are ludicrous. For instance, he concluded from some weakly presented circumstantial evidence that most of the Steinway brothers from 1860 into the late 1800s must have had substantial high frequency hearing loss, therefore that was why Steinway pianos at the time were sometimes criticized for being too bright and harsh in tone. It's a good read, but one must be a little skeptical of someone trying to sensationalize the lives of people so long dead. There is a long section on the actions of Henry Steinway's wife after Henry died (1865?), and I suppose it was in character with the style of the author's writing. I thought he tried too hard to make more of a scandal of it than was justifiable, though. Don_Mannino@yca.ccmail.compuserve.com
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