Prepared Piano

[John von Rohr]

At 10:22 AM 4/17/96 -0600, you wrote:
>
>               State University of New York at Stony Brook
>                       Stony Brook, NY
>
>                                            Joseph Vitti
>                                            Piano Technician
>                                            Music
>                                            516 632-7330
>                                            17-Apr-1996 12:10pm EDT
>FROM:  JVITTI
>TO:    Remote Addressee                     ( _Pianotech@byu.edu )
>
>Subject: Prepared Piano
>
>
>I have lots of trouble convincing the piano faculty here that preparing our
new
>Steinway Ds ( plucking, using stickers on the dampers and strings, using
>chisels on strings etc.) will cause them to deteriorate. Does anyone else have
>this problem and is there anything in writing I can use to convince them that
>it would be better to use a piano designated for prepared use.
>
>Thanks
>
>Joe Vitti
>
Hi Joe, (in case you remember me)
    I hve the contract at Boston Conservatory of Music and found the same
attitude here when I arrived. After several unsuccessful incidents I took my
case to the people who sign the checks in the administration and found that
it was both effective and didn't leave any feathers out of place. I suggest
you go with a clear plan of how you would work with the faculty to fulfil
their needs and preserve the pianos (and why). You have to pick one (it
hurts) and act thrilled and interested in the preparation being done, just
stick to your guns about which piano. I have found that the pianists don't
really feel that they need a great instrument to use, but rather a helpful
attitude on our part.- BUT - stick to your guns!!!!  Best of luck.    JvR>