<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4134.600" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=edwithen@oregontrail.net = href="mailto:edwithen@oregontrail.net">Ed Carwithen</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> February 20, 2003 2:23 = PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> artist's touch</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>  His performance was of the = highest caliber, and he deserved the standing O that he got.  In = rehearsal and in performance it was obvious that he is highly gifted and dedicated, as = well as knowledgeable to the point of obsession about the Tchaikovsky = concerto.  It is just that his concerns about the piano were curious to me.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>As an expert = on the Tchaikovsky concerto, Mr Atamian is surely aware that the Piano Concerto = No. 1 was written in 1875, a time of transition for the piano. The pianos = available to Mr Tchaikovsky would have had quite soft and resilient hammers and the instruments on which he would have played would have had, by today's = standards, relatively light actions. With few exceptions, the actions would have = been light and quick. They would not have produced sounds anywhere close to the = threshold of pain, indeed they would have produced a tone that was relatively = light and dynamic but not overly powerful. If he is to be truly obsssive about = this, perhaps his performance should reflect his obsession.</FONT></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" = color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>  What steps could a tech make = to put more resistance in the piano?  Especially between Friday night and = Saturday afternoon?  Is this a common complaint with artists?  How = about the business with the keys being dry.  I thought that artists wished = the keys to be clean and dry so their fingers didn't slide.  That is the = opposite of what he wanted.</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>For = Rubenstein we sprayed hairspray on the keys to give them some additional texture. After the performance it would wash off fairly easily with water and a bit of = Ivory soap.</FONT></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>Del</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>