EXTREMELY large upright

[Henk Cousijn]

Diane in Wonderland?


----- Original Message -----
From: Diane Hofstetter <dianepianotuner@hotmail.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2000 9:04 AM
Subject: EXTREMELY large upright


> How about an upright that is 9.84' high and weighs well over two tons?
It's
> called a "Klavins" after its inventor, Davids Klavins of Bonn, Germany.
> (Interestingly the German word for upright piano is Klavier.)
>
> It is straight strung, has one continuous bridge, a Renner upright action
> and keyboard, and a concert hall constructed specifically for it.  The
> pianist climbs a flight of stairs to a balcony where he sits at the
> keyboard, the action directly in front of him.  Were you to photograph
only
> the portion of the instrument above the balcony, you might almost think
you
> were looking at only a very large upright.  But beneath the balcony you
see
> another five feet or so of strings, soundboard, bridge, plate...
>
> I have a CD of Michael Ponti playing Mussorgskij, Chopin and Liszt on it.
> The sound is awesome.  When I first heard it, I did not know what
instrument
> was being played and at first thought it might be a piano, but certainly
not
> like any piano I had ever heard before.  The bass is huge.
>
> Michael Ponti is quoted as saying "The unique size of the piano has an
> overwhelming effect on me.  When I sit at the Klavins and play, it seems
> incomparably more impressive than anything I have ever experienced
before."
>
> There is a whole page in the CD booklet about what he was trying to
> accomplish with the instrument.  I believe I was told that he made the
> instrument as his project for his German Klavierbauer certification.
>
> Too bad I can't send some kind of music attachment!
>
> Diane
>
> Diane Hofstetter
> 245-M Mount Hermon Rd.
> Scotts Valley, CA 95066
> ph  831-438-6222
> fax 831-430-9741
> dianepianotuner@hotmail.com
>
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