Newton Hunt's Pitch Manifest

[Newton Hunt]

Dear Ricard,

The State Theatre is the New Brunswick Cultural Center concert hall
which owns it's on piano, a rebuild 1923 S&S D.  It is quite stable when
not not mess with, but if the pitch is changed it goes bonkers and is a
bitch (although normally Charlene is a gentle lady) to restabalize.

Too many orchestras and performers were requesting first one then
another pitch.  A policy had to be established to govern this tendency.
It is amazing how often 440 is acceptable when they are hit in the
pocket book directly.

I was with four notes of finishing a tuning at the Town Hall in New York
City when the performer bounced in and said, "You tuned it to 442 didn't
you!".  I said, "No, the house policy is 440."  She, "But my Marimba is
tuned to 442."  Me, after a thinking pause, "I will have to tune the
piano again, twice, to make it stable at 442.  Put $100.00 cash folding
money right here on the piano and I will do it but it will require
another hour and a half."  Her, immediately, "That's OK, 440 is fine."
Real story and I did not get a request from admin for a change in
pitch.  COncert went well, I suppose.

            Newton