<HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-= 1"> <META content="IncrediMail 1.0" name=GENERATOR>  </HEAD> <BODY style="BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0px 0px; SCROLLBAR-FACE-COLOR: #ebeae= a; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 5px 10px 10px; SCROLLBAR-HIGHLIGHT-COLOR: #ae= aaaa; SCROLLBAR-SHADOW-COLOR: #a9a9a9; SCROLLBAR-3DLIGHT-COLOR: #e5e5e5; = SCROLLBAR-ARROW-COLOR: #0846d1; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; SCROLLBAR-DARKSHADOW-= COLOR: #545252" bgColor=#ffffff background="" scroll=yes ORGYPOS== "0" X-FVER="3.0"> <TABLE id=INCREDIMAINTABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100= %" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD id=INCREDITEXTREGION style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; CURSOR: auto; FONT-F= AMILY: Arial" width="100%"> <DIV><FONT size=2>I'd like to put a slightly different spin on thi= s thread, if you'll indulge me for a moment.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Bob D writes:</FONT></DIV> <DIV>  <FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 style="BAC= KGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="S= ANSSERIF"><BR><Yeah, I drove 50 miles to see it, only to find a nice e= nough, ordinary model D. I pulled off the keyslip in the desperate hope t= hat they had the original action on a shelf somewhere, but no, it was the= original frame with new parts. What a loss. Not because it was wonderful= , but perhaps because it was not.> </FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 style="BACKGROUND-COLO= R: #ffffff" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></= FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>A fairly reliable rumour has it that the original par= ts still exist in labelled boxes out of harm's way so they can = be put back in someday, if that eases anyone's mind at all. </FONT><= /DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>The piano is on tour and will be played, tuned and po= ssibly serviced by many people until it is finally put away in a mus= eum. In the interests of history I think it's far better that people= be allowed to see, touch and play the piano itself (and get the fan= cy certificate suitable for framing) with some compromise in the action r= ather than have thousands of people playing on the original parts.</FONT>= <FONT size=2>  It would be a travesty for the old parts to wear be= yond recognition, be broken or even stolen as souvenirs (with suitable re= placements installed so no one will notice).</FONT></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>If I recall how he worded it, Franz Mohr stated that = the new parts, regulation and voicing would have met with the Maestr= o's approval. If that is correct then it doesn't have to mean i= t was exactly the same as it was before, just that he would have approved= of it, though perhaps that might have been when they were a lot younger.=   It appeared to me to be regulated and voiced much like a= ny other modern D by the time it got here, though the case and keys were = just as battle-scarred as I remembered them to be. That's fine too, reall= y. Isn't it better that you had the chance to lay your hands on the same = keys the Maestro did than to merely have a banged-up piano with a plaque = on it behind a braided rope in some far away museum?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 style="BACKGROUND-COLO= R: #ffffff" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">&l= t;would have been instructive to compare the extraordinary music Horowitz= was able to make on an instrument which was significantly outside the no= rm, mechanically - to connect the influence of the machine with the music= .><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 style="BACKGROUND-COLO= R: #ffffff" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></= FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 style="BACKGROUND-COLO= R: #ffffff" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">In= deed it would have been. However, if you were the ten thousandth per= son to play it while it is on it's grand tour, would you be able to = tell what was Horowitz and what was just plain wear that other namel= ess people had put in it? Would anyone ever get the chance to e= xperience that feeling again in the future?  As it is, or as I hope = it is, the original parts will be kept in storage and when the piano is f= inally put on display in the Smithsonian or wherever the only wear o= n them over the years will be what the Maestro (and Franz Mohr) put = there before they were removed. If they needed to go back on for research= that would still be possible, but at least the piano could be used in th= e future for concerts or more tours without compromising the "histor= ic" action parts.</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Of course, even having the "original" piano is&n= bsp;complicated by all the other little things about the piano that will = change over the years. String terminations, the strings themselves, the b= oard condition, the pinblock and even somewhat different regulating = techniques will make the piano different now than it was the last time th= e Maestro played it in concert. Even if all the parts were put back and r= egulated as it was before the piano will not be "the same" because i= t's aging, the Maestro has passed on and Franz has retired. At least we h= ave the piano, the memories, the discussions and the fabul= ous recordings.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>   =             &= nbsp;    John</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV></FON= T></TD></TR> <TR> <TD id=INCREDIFOOTER width="100%"> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD width="100%"></TD> <TD id=INCREDISOUND vAlign=bottom align=middle></TD> <TD id=INCREDIANIM vAlign=bottom align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></T= ABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SPAN id=IncrediStamp><SPAN dir=ltr><F= ONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>______________________= ______________________________<BR><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2><= A href="http://www.incredimail.com/redir.asp?ad_id=309&lang=9">= <IMG alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:9D40B7DE-8136-11D7-B7CB-0000B45A563C"= align=baseline border=0></A>  <I>IncrediMail</I> - <B>Email has= finally evolved</B> - </FONT><A href="http://www.incredimail.com/redir= .asp?ad_id=309&lang=9"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>= <B><U>Click Here</U></B></FONT></A></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></BODY></HTML>