David, Compare a north American piano such as Steinway to a fine European piano such as Sauter or Fazioli or [you choose] and you will be inclined to accept that "bell-like tone" addage the way you describe it. The American tonal tradition is very rich in harmonics and it works for many of us. The Austrian tonal tradition, on the other hand, has cleaner more harmonized sound where the tenor is clean and dense chords can be heard in detail where they would be muddy on a Steinway, for example. We have an old restored Everett Concert grand side by side with a Sauter semi-concert grand and can go back and forth between them. The differences are not subtile. The Everett dates back to the "golden-age" of American piano building and its tone is reminiscent of a fine Steinway. The Sauter has a clearer tone that allows complex harmonies to be heard in detail and is much more powerful in the treble with a longer singing sustain then I encounter in most American pianos. That said, there are interesting differences to be explored in all the finest pianos. Americans have gone for that thick brash "bell-like" tone. There is a Nordic/Russian tonal tradition too that is ultra bright, even harsh. A good variety to satisfy any taste... Andrew Anderson At 12:33 PM 4/12/2007, you wrote: >I enjoyed watching that. Mohr says in the short >film that Horowitz likes a certain "nasal-ness" >in the tone. That set me to thinking again >about how tricky it is to find adjectives to >describe the subtleties of piano tone. What do >we say of the sound of a Steinway concert grand >in comparison to a Yamaha? We may be able to >tell them apart in good quality recordings, but >can we DESCRIBE the differences? Especially to a non-expert? > >There is a cliché I really dislike - it's when >someone describes a fine piano as have a >"bell-like" tone. Yuk yuk yuk! Who wants a >piano that sounds like bells? Many bells have >such a muddle of harmonics that you can hardly >tell what note they are. It would be a really >great compliment to a set of bells to say that >they had a "piano-like tone", I reckon! > >Do any have adjectives they would apply to >particular brands, or that they tend to use in >decribing tone quality? I'd like to hear what >others say before venturing any of my own...... > >Best, > >David.
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