Temperament, A pianist responds

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Richard writes:
<< but it does seem to me that David is talking about the Key of E major
here, which he states has more colour in the Young compared
to the Broadwood<< 

David writes: 
>>Those thirds contribute substantially to the character of E major.

   I agree that the cumulative amount of tempering is greater in the Young, 
but the amounts don't necessarily make a huge difference in the way the key 
of E sounds in a Broadwood vs a Young.  
     In comparing these two temperaments, the tonic thirds are identical, the 
V is only 4 cents wider in the Young and the IV is only 2 cents difference.  
I don't find those differences enough to warrant calling one "fairly active" 
and the other "dissonant".  Yes the Young provides more contrast, but I don't 
hear it as dissonant. 

now, for some slight assistance from the established literature of today, I 
went to the new Groves today, and would like to just toss the following onto 
the fire: (I'd hate for somebody to think I just made all this up!) 

According to Schindler, in 1860:
   "Beethoven in his last years maintained a keen interest in expressive 
characteristics of different keys and suggested they were most apparent in 
piano music. <<

Lindley writes:  
"It is unclear to what extent Beethoven may have attributed the difference to 
acoustical factors, but his piano music does in fact benefit from an 18th 
century unequal temperament"  ( Lindley 1997 chap. 5)

Regards, 
Ed