<HTML>Terry, Here's my $215.32(2 cents inflated from the time of the coining of this = phrase):  the piano was likely voiced as an accompanying instrument rat= her than a solo instrument, so some of the bite that may be necessary to fil= l a hall with a full range of colors was likely voiced down to in order acco= mpany another instrument rather than overpower it.  Odds are, different= voicing would be used if it was being prepped to cut through a full orchest= ra or to be on its own. Just a guess, Dave Stahl In a message dated 4/3/03 3:55:23 AM Pacific Standard Time, mfarrel2@ta= mpabay.rr.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">The post about Olga Kern go= t me thinking. I know so little about concert prep and what a piano should s= ound like on a stage - I'm not sure I even know exactly what to ask here. So= me observations then. Last week I went to a concert featuring Italian violinist Nadja Salerno-= Sonnenberg who was accompanied by American-born pianist Anne-Marie McDermott= . McDermott played a Steinway D with the lid propped open. The concert was a= t Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. The hall has received many awards= for its superior acoustics (I have been to numerous concerts there before w= here I found the sound to be perfect). The hall was half-filled with people = and I sat in the very middle of the hall. Do I get any demerits if I mention on this list that Nadja is quite attr= active? The piano NEVER overpowered the violin - and that woman was working on t= hat piano - at least her hair was flying enough to suggest it (excellent pia= no hair - long Art Garfunkel type). The piano sounded lovely on quiet passag= es - very soft and delicate - blended with the violin perfectly (was thinkin= g peas and carrots - but that won't do - we need roses and something....). B= ut on loud, aggressive passages it seemed to me the voice of the piano never= changed, but simply got a bit louder - it was the same soft tone, but loude= r because the pianist was hammering on the keys. The tone was so soft, the n= otes sounded like mush as she played - no definition. I expected some elemen= t of brilliance and life to come out of the piano at the louder volume, but = never heard it. All else being equal - won't a big piano with the lid open generally ove= rpower one violin (can't 980 lbs. overpower, what, about 3 lbs.)? Does what I am describing make sense? Were my expectations the "norm" (I= certainly realize tastes vary - and we are talking piano tone here)? Was it= the piano? Was it the voicing (concert prep)? Was it the hall? Do I need to= get my head (ears) examined? Is it possible the piano tech voiced the hamme= rs super-soft so that the piano did not blast away the violin? But then why = not just put the lid down and let the piano maintain some dynamics? Any thoughts on this? BTW: Fabulous, fabulous concert - in spite of anything I thought about t= he piano. That young lady can play that there little fiddle! The ears and ey= es were smiling all evening! </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>