More pianos please!

[12tone.]

Got to thinking: box sets of harpsichord works get interesting when more than one harpsichord are used, so why not pianos?  Not all pianos sound the same.  So, if a harpsichordist can use multiple harpsichords, future Beethoven PS cycles could use more than one piano. 

I think it's a good idea and might turn out interesting.



EDIT:  And not just Beet PS's, anything else. 

[Harry]

Que is right as always! 
That is a wonderful box......

[Monsieur Croche]

Enough pianos for you? 

Seriously though, I have never really paid much attention to the instruments used in a performance unless they sound downright terrible. I voted Yes because I think that is a very fascinating idea. Thank you for the recommendation, Que; I expect an eye-opening (or rather, ear-opening) experience from that set.

[Que]

Seriously though, I have never really paid much attention to the instruments used in a performance unless they sound downright terrible. I voted Yes because I think that is a very fascinating idea. Thank you for the recommendation, Que; I expect an eye-opening (or rather, ear-opening) experience from that set.

It will be. 
And I don't know how familiar your are with Haydn's output for keyboard, but I wasn't and this set was a real eye-opener for me! It's great music - these are the foundations that LvB built on in his piano works.

Q

[op.110]

All you need a beautiful sounding New York Steinway Concert Grand - Model D (A Steinway Model B would suffice). No other piano would be required.

[prémont]

Got to thinking: box sets of harpsichord works get interesting when more than one harpsichord are used, so why not pianos?  Not all pianos sound the same.  So, if a harpsichordist can use multiple harpsichords, future Beethoven PS cycles could use more than one piano. 
I think it's a good idea and might turn out interesting.
EDIT:  And not just Beet PS's, anything else. 

This question has got the most relevance in period instruments recordings, I think. Think of the evolution change in piano manufacturing from 1750 to 1850. It is desirable, that this is reflected in the choice of instrument, in the way Badura-Skoda does in his period LvB cycle. This ought to be the rule in harpsichord recordings too, but often it is overlooked.

With modern instruments recordings I think, the artist should chose the instrument, which serves his playing style most, e.g. Backhaus/Bösendorfer.

[12tone.]

The idea of this poll was to see who thinks having multiple pianos for a 'piano music box' would be just as good as having multiple harpsichords / fortepianos for a 'keyboard music box'.

No one seems to have caught the main idea here...except op.110...

If you can have a variety of harpsichords why not a variety of pianos for a box set?  Not all new pianos sounds the same.

[Que]

The idea of this poll was to see who thinks having multiple pianos for a 'piano music box' would be just as good as having multiple harpsichords / fortepianos for a 'keyboard music box'.

No one seems to have caught the main idea here...except op.110...

If you can have a variety of harpsichords why not a variety of pianos for a box set? 

OK, OK, not piano(forte)s but fortepianos, and not in one box but still a cycle...

Just to illustrate, Paul Komen's LvB sonatas:
No. 8, Op 13; nos. 9 & 10; Op. 14, no. 11, Op. 22: Michael Rosenberger, Vienna c.1802
Nos. 16-17, Op. 31: Salvatore la Grassa, Viennese School, c.1815
No. 24, Op. 78; no. 25, Op. 79; no. 27 Op. 90: idem
No. 21, Op. 53; no. 22, Op. 54; no. 23, Op. 57: Johann Fritz, Vienna 1825
No. 30, Op. 109; no. 31; no. 32 Op. 111: Conrad Graf, Vienna, c.1830

Not all new pianos sounds the same.

True, but why do so many pianists play anything on a Steinway? A Steinway for Bach, a Steinway for Haydn, a Steinway for early, middle and late Beethoven, for Debussy, etc., etc.

Thank heavens for Arthur Schnabel's Bechstein!!
(Maybe his instrument plays an important part in the successfulness of his LvB cycle? )

Q

[op.110]

True, but why do so many pianists play anything on a Steinway? A Steinway for Bach, a Steinway for Haydn, a Steinway for early, middle and late Beethoven, for Debussy, etc., etc.

From what pianists tell me, no other piano can deliver the amount of amplitude and girth of sound required to carry notes through a concert hall; the beauty and quality of sound of Model D Steinways can't be compared to even the best of Baldwins, Bösendorfers, or Yamahas. Also, the "action" on Steinways is what makes them most impressive (evidently Horowitz had the Hamburg Steinway factory create a piano that had such feather light action, simply blowing on a note would cause the hammers to jump). It should also be noted that American Steinways are known to have a quicker and more responsive action than Hamburg Steinways

While it's true that many pianists prefer a Steinway over any other piano (especially American Steinways over Hamburg Steinways), you also have to realize that the most famous of performing pianists fly to New York City and visit Steinway Hall's basement where they test drive and choose which piano they'll be performing/recording with. Each Model D Steinway is a different animal.

[prémont]

The idea of this poll was to see who thinks having multiple pianos for a 'piano music box' would be just as good as having multiple harpsichords / fortepianos for a 'keyboard music box'.

No one seems to have caught the main idea here...except op.110...

I have just answered your question above. Maybe I need to make myself more clear.

Concerning boxes of period instruments recordings I think the instruments used should be true "period",  i.e. you should not use late French baroque harpsichords for early Bach harpsichord music, so a collection of Bach works from different periods ought to use different and adequate instruments. This should be the authentic reason for changing instruments, and it is indeed often the cause of such change.The same with fortepianos and early pianos. If this demand is not met, you can not call the recording period in the strict sense of the word.

But this do not apply to recordings on modern instruments, and I do not see the point of changing the instrument just for the sake of variety. I think both the artist and the listener are best served, when the artist choses the piano,which suits him best.The cause of changing instrument should rather be, that you get the opportunity to compare the sound and action of the different instruments, but then the same work must be recorded on different instruments. This has in fact been done. I own a CD with Lambert Orkis playing Appasionata on three different pianos and another CD with Brahms Fourth symphony arranged for two pianos recorded twice on different pianos. In these cases the purpose was to compare period and modern instruments though.

[prémont]

From what pianists tell me, no other piano can deliver the amount of amplitude and girth of sound required to carry notes through a concert hall;

This does not necessarily apply equally well to recordings in a studio.

[FideLeo]

Thank heavens for Arthur Schnabel's Bechstein!!
(Maybe his instrument plays an important part in the successfulness of his LvB cycle? )

Q

Schnabel was obviously very fond of his instrument -- that can make a huge difference when it comes to performing and recording.  Bechstein sounds simply beautiful in a more intimate setting, as my personal experiences suggest. 

The new MdG series of Brahms early piano works (performer Hardy Rittner) starts with a recording of sonata 2 and ballads and one set of variations played on a 1851 JB Streicher instrument.  Hopefully the series will involve other instruments as it progresses.

[Wanderer]

I do not see the point of changing the instrument just for the sake of variety. I think both the artist and the listener are best served, when the artist choses the piano,which suits him best.

I quite agree.

[jochanaan]

While the Steinways obviously dominate the US market in high-end pianos, they're not the only player in the game.  And I cannot agree that Bösendorfers don't have the required "penetration" for concert-hall work; I've played on a few of both.

A while back in a Denver music store, I found a five-foot grand and decided, more out of morbid curiosity than anything else, to see how bad it sounded.  Great was my amazement to find a beautiful, deep-toned, responsive instrument!  It was a Petrov, apparently the Russian equivalent of Steinway, now located in the Czech Republic.  I can only imagine that their concert grands would compare favorably.

And at one time Mason & Hamlin was a serious competitor to Steinway et al.  I still remember a six-foot M&H in a shop many years ago that had one of the most awesome dynamic ranges I've ever had the pleasure of encountering in a piano; it could whisper or roar at any number of different levels, and its tone was deep and evocative.

But as for the question at hand, I see no reason not to use multiple instruments even in modern-instrument recordings.  Each piano has its own voice--the higher the quality, the more individual its voice.  Perhaps especially for Beethoven, a pianist might want to play a lighter-voiced piano for the early works and a deeper-toned instrument for the magnificent late works.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Should box sets of piano sonatas or any other genre for solo piano contain more than one piano?

I would be more than happy if box sets even contained one piano. Meanwhile I will have to be content with:

http://www.revver.com/video/517474/sega-toys-grand-pianist-miniature-grand-piano/

[FideLeo]

Should box sets of piano sonatas or any other genre for solo piano contain more than one piano?

I would be more than happy if box sets even contained one piano. Meanwhile I will have to be content with:

http://www.revver.com/video/517474/sega-toys-grand-pianist-miniature-grand-piano/

Well, unless your box sets are as big as a house, I guess that's it.   

[(poco) Sforzando]

Well, unless your box sets are as big as a house, I guess that's it.   

Gives a new meaning to the term "baby grand."

[op.110]

This does not necessarily apply equally well to recordings in a studio.

No it doesn't; but regardless, Steinways have superior sound, IMO; many would agree.