soft, bass trill regulation

[Barbara Richmond]

Thank you, Steven.  I'll never forget the first time I heard a recording of
the third movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata* on a period
instrument.  "Whoa, WHO is that?" (I think it was Malcom Bilson).  Actually,
my question should have been, "What instrument is that?"  No jumble of
notes, <everything> could be heard.  It was amazing.  I became quite a fan 
of
period instruments.

On the other hand, one time when my husband and I were driving somewhere, we
had the radio tuned to the trusty public radio station that was broadcasting
the Emperor Concerto (on period instruments).  Big orchestral chords
followed by what sounded like an itty bitty piano.  We looked at each other,
I giggled.

Anyway, thanks for bringing up the subject.

Barbara Richmond, RPT

*At University of Vienna, a professor there referred to it as the
Moonshine Sonata--a picture formed in my mind of some nice refined backwoods
folks making homemade whiskey, sitting by the still, listening to Beethoven.
I had to give him credit, his English was better than my German.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Birkett" <sbirkett@real.uwaterloo.ca>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 12:21 AM
Subject: Re: soft, bass trill regulation


> >Hmmm, speaking of pieces composers wrote after they were dead (how's that
> >for a segue?), a friend and I have been having a discussion about
> >Schubert's Sonata in B (flat) D 960, first movement with the G flat
> >(that's Gb1)-A flat (Ab1) trill in the left hand, played at pianissimo.
> >Barring any fault with the pianist (or not), would there be something
> >about the regulation of the notes that would make trilling down there at
> >pianissimo more (or less) successful?  I'd welcome both comments on
> >pianistic technique and an analysis of what in regulation would help or
> >hinder the performance.
>
> The Schubert D960 bass trill is one of the prices the modern piano paid in
> its acoustic power deal with the devil. I use that, and a few other spots
> like the first chord of Beethoven Op 13, to illustrate how the
> characteristics of the original fortepiano can be absolutely critical. The
> most perfect regulation and piano technique on a modern piano will not
> achieve what you can do instantly, naturally, and without special effort,
> on the original piano. The problem transcends mechanical actuation and
> relates more to the acoustics of how to create that trill. The effect is
> lost because the definition of the trill cannot be achieved with thick,
> long bass strings. Bit like trying to race a luxury sedan on the track.
> Some things it just ain't intended to do naturally. In the case of that
> Schubert trill it all comes down to sonic definition, regardless of
> regulatory success.
>
> Now an interesting thing about that sonata that is seldom heard becuase so
> few people play the repeat. The first movement repeated section has a
> lead-back first ending that concludes with that famous pp trill, but, just
> that one time only, played ff. Makes all those pp versions everywhere else
> all the more like distant echos. The first time you hear it it is then
> really a pre-echo, if that makes sense.
>
> Stephen
> -- 
> Dr Stephen Birkett
> Piano Design Lab
> Department of Systems Design Engineering
> University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON Canada N2L 3G1
> tel: 519-888-4567 Ext. 3792
> Lab room E3-3160 Ext. 7115
> mailto: sbirkett[at]real.uwaterloo.ca
> http://real.uwaterloo.ca/~sbirkett
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