future of the acoustic piano

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Birkett" <birketts@wright.aps.uoguelph.ca>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: March 06, 2001 10:43 PM
Subject: Re: future of the acoustic piano


> ... Compared
> to a modern piano, playing historical pianos is like molding musical clay
> in your fingers. Those pianos do what you ask them to do almost instantly,
> and the expressive possibilities are endless if they are played right
> (which they often aren't, even by so-called fortepianists).  Perhaps the
> Faustian deal musicians have made cannot be reversed, and the piano is in
> its demise. Perhaps a more intimate piano with a much quicker acoustic
> response might just succeed in the market, amongst musicians and public
> who can appreciate the beauty of such an instrument. We won't know unless
> we design and build one. I'm not suggesting to return to the past, rather
> to go forward to the next logical step in the acoustic piano.
>
> Stephen
> ----------------------------------------------

Oh, come on, Stephen. Next thing you'll be wanting pianos to go back to
having some kind of broad tonal dynamics and musicality and musical intimacy
and all that. No one wants that stuff any more -- just give me bright and
power. "Hear that, Mrs Jones, just listen to that power -- much better than
that wimpy Brand X down the street! What kind of offer can I make to get you
to sign up today? What? You want to play the piano for a couple of hours
before you make up your mind? Oh, well, no. I don't think we can arrange
that. It would bother the other customers, you see. What a strange request."

Have a heart, Stephen. Do you want to disrupt and entire industry? If we go
the direction you're talking about where would all the modern hammer makers
be? They would have to start making piano hammers again and they've
forgotten how. We would have to start voicing for musicality and dynamics
again and we've forgotten how. Besides, most of us would have to get hearing
aids just to hear all those dynamics.

Ah, well... Nice dream. That is what you were doing, right?

Del