artist's touch

[Delwin D Fandrich]

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  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Ed Carwithen=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: February 20, 2003 2:23 PM
  Subject: artist's touch



    His performance was of the highest caliber, and he deserved the =
standing O that he got.  In rehearsal and in performance it was obvious =
that he is highly gifted and dedicated, as well as knowledgeable to the =
point of obsession about the Tchaikovsky concerto.  It is just that his =
concerns about the piano were curious to me.

As an expert on the Tchaikovsky concerto, Mr Atamian is surely aware =
that the Piano Concerto No. 1 was written in 1875, a time of transition =
for the piano. The pianos available to Mr Tchaikovsky would have had =
quite soft and resilient hammers and the instruments on which he would =
have played would have had, by today's standards, relatively light =
actions. With few exceptions, the actions would have been light and =
quick. They would not have produced sounds anywhere close to the =
threshold of pain, indeed they would have produced a tone that was =
relatively light and dynamic but not overly powerful. If he is to be =
truly obsssive about this, perhaps his performance should reflect his =
obsession.

    What steps could a tech make to put more resistance in the piano?  =
Especially between Friday night and Saturday afternoon?  Is this a =
common complaint with artists?  How about the business with the keys =
being dry.  I thought that artists wished the keys to be clean and dry =
so their fingers didn't slide.  That is the opposite of what he wanted.
For Rubenstein we sprayed hairspray on the keys to give them some =
additional texture. After the performance it would wash off fairly =
easily with water and a bit of Ivory soap.

Del

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