soft, bass trill regulation

[William Ballard]

At 6:44 PM -0500 8/31/05, Barbara Richmond wrote:
>Vladan,
>Thanks, perhaps I'll have a chance to work on my piano next week.  It really
>needs it (I suspect my Renner parts are getting a bit sluggish), and this
>could be incentive I need.  I'll let you know my results--whenever it is I
>get to it.  :-)
>Barbara

In all fairness, I should disclose that it wasn't Barbara's piano 
which had the difficulty, it was one that I take care of. Leon 
Fleisher came to http://www.yellowbarn.org/ for a benefit concert in 
this 150-seat recital hall, and I was on duty during his entire time 
there that weekend. He had two Ds to choose from (Fred and Ginger) 
and although he liked Ginger's brighter sound, Fred's action was more 
reliable for him. As I look back on it, the critical matter in his 
selection may have been this very trill in the Schubert. There were 
plenty of quiet passages in the program, but this wasn't an issue.

At any rate, I was chasing after small details on the chosen piano, 
sometimes anticipating them before he mentioned them, on the basis of 
hearing him play. I didn't catch on to this issue until SUN, right at 
the end of his practising, 45 minutes before the concert. I was 
heading onstage for a final tuning check, and as he came off he said 
"Can you knock down the low Gb/Ab, so that they're not as loud." I 
listened and at normal volume levels, they didn't stand out. But just 
for good measure, I did a quick poke right at the strike point. My 
experience is that acupuncture is far less likely to knock down 
volume than brightness, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Then as the Schubert started, that first trill which he played 
quietly, sounded rough, wobbly. He took the first repeat (an 
indulgence) and when the trill came around again it was louder and 
successful. That's when I realized that the voicing request was not 
so much for sound, as it was a strategy to get a quieter trill more 
reliable.

Barbara and I were trading stories at the end of the summer, and 
because she's a pianist, I asked her what she knew quiet trills. The 
discussion on this list has been very valuable.

Mr. Bill

"Can you check out this middle C?. It "whangs' - (or twangs?)
     Thanks so much, Ginger"
     ...........Service Request
+++++++++++++++++++++