HT Reaction

[A440A@aol.com]

Greetings, 
I wrote, (inre informing people )  
>>     I wouldn't say a word about it for the first time,  to make a big deal
>>about the difference is to place a variable in the orchestras mind, and
>unless
>>they are perfect to begin with, all blame for intonation will land on the
>>technician that brought this "change" into the venue.  Let them perform with
>>it a few times before it becomes a "thing" that the audience is given. 

And David asks: 
>Avery Todd is going to be tuning a HT for a recital, and the pianist knows
>about it and is comfortable with the tuning he is going to use.  Now, Ed,
>are you recommending that Avery not tell the Orchestra about the tuning?
<snip>  Are you suggesting that the
>orchestra should have a few rehearsals practicing with the piano tuned this
>way a few times before letting them know about the difference in the tuning?


    Yes,  they will be more at ease without being confused by the esoterica of
temperament differences.  It has been my experience that the orchestra's
intonation is better when the piano has a tonal center.  

>Or rather are you recommending that the audience not be told about it the
>first few times? 

     The audience should make their minds up from the musical results, first.
Afterward, or on succeeding performances you may do well to enlighten them
intellectually, but IMHO,  the musical differences are the best, introduction.
   I really think that the piano-owning customer who is paying for a tuning
needs to know exactly what they are getting, but for an audience or orchestra,
making the tuning difference a focus before the listening is done is usually
counterproductive.  
   It is very gratifying to see that the technician world is wrestling with
this whole idea of variety in the temperaments.  The advantage of ET is
economic, but there are more esthetic reasons to undertake the investigations
of older tunings. 
    ET is a relative latecomer to the world of intonation, and I propose that
in the future, it will be regarded as something of a novelty, or at least, a
specialized detour that the 20th century took.  The hegemony that ET has
enjoyed for the last 100 years is slowly eroding, and the advent of electronic
tunability, ( be it the SAT's, RCT's, tunable keyboards, or whatever), is
going to be the major agent of change. 
Regards, 
Ed Foote