<HTML>List, I had the unexpected pleasure and challenge of tuning a Baldwin Grand for a performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto #5, "The Emperor" yesterday.  It has been 12 years, almost to the day since I tuned a piano for that piece.  Back in February, 1990, I used the Vallotti temperament since I was comfortable with it at the time. Later, after learning many more HT's, I still thought that if I had to tune for this piece again, I would choose this temperament because it works so well with the piece.  It provides the piano with pure 5ths for virtually everything which is played.  It gives the piano such a clean, in tune sound, I can hardly imagine choosing any other temperament. Yet, I still felt cornered from four angles while making the decision.  A few years ago, there was a blow hard tuner who used to dominate this List who was going to tune for the same piece and who scoffed, "I wouldn't think of using that Vallotti" (while badly misspelling the name).  He wanted people to come to the performance and *guess* what he had done. He had chosen the Marpurg Quasi Equal Temperament because all but 3 of the 5ths in that temperament are pure and the 3rds sound just like ET.  This choice was made for the very same reason I made my choice but the booby trap was that the 3 5ths that are tempered each by 4 cents were the very ones used throughout the entire piece!  These 5ths are tempered even more than in 1/7 Comma Meantone! Which leads to the next 2 angles of opposition:  on one side, I have Ed Foote saying how bad 1/7 Comma Meantone is and that he would never use it for any Beethoven and on the other, there is Tim Farley asking me yesterday what problem I saw with using it.  My answer to both of them is that 1/7 Comma Meantone would have worked just fine but I had good reasons for making the specific choice that I did. The final angle that I never give either a reason or excuse to are the two scowling piano teachers that always show up at these events and who always ask me if that was ET and to whom I always say that the information is confidential.  They always seem to be impressed with the way I make the piano sound and are always hopeful that what they liked so much was ET.  They will never hire me to tune their pianos because I refuse to do them in ET.  Their alternative always ends up being Reverse Well. I dug around this morning and I found a copy of that tape from Albuquerque.  My son is visiting next weekend and he tells me he can make a WAV sample for me to put on my website.  So, I may be able to do what some have asked for after all.  After listening to that tape this morning, I'd have to say that I wouldn't ever take Ed Foote's, the Steinway men or any of those who complained to Kent Webb opinions seriously.  I'd just go ahead and do what I planned on doing and let the chips fall where they may. Last week, when I was in the recording studio, a younger tech was there to observe what I was doing. I went to the Kawai piano which had been delivered in 1/7 Comma Meantone.  I showed him the differences between the two, playing some of the elements of the Apassionata Sonata and I must say that I regretted destroying the superior properties of that temperament just to satisfy the lowest common denominator that would not accept anything richer and stronger than the EBVT.  The EBVT gives the piano clarity, mild texture and very mild color but the 1/7 Comma Meantone gives the piano bold strength and power. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> </HTML>