Harpsichord or piano?

[Harry]

Personally, as stated earlier, I am not a huge solo fan, however, I cannot imagine most of Hogwoods recordings without one somewhere in the mix.

Fair enough Bill.
I happen to be a great admirer of solo harpsichord, to witness the enormous collection I have.

[FideLeo]

Vaugham Williams probably never heard the kind of harpsichords Hogwood plays.  

(harpsichords by Pleyel anyone?)

I don't think I have heard the kind of harpsichords that V-W hated either.  

[Bogey]

Fair enough Bill.
I happen to be a great admirer of solo harpsichord, to witness the enormous collection I have.

And you know that I think that is great Harry (and those here that prefer it).......and you also know that I never write any form of music off, especially classical.  Just not there yet on this one.

Vaugham Williams probably never heard the kind of harpsichords Hogwood plays.    

I can support that.

[Bunny]

Vaugham Williams probably never heard the kind of harpsichords Hogwood plays. 

(harpsichords by Pleyel anyone?)

I don't think I have heard the kind of harpsichords that V-W hated either. 

Wanda Landowska and Igor Kipnis certainly would have taken you up on that offer.

[jochanaan]

...[In fairness, we must remember that Beecham died in 1961, before a generation of excellent players, restorers, makers and tuners had emerged to sound the instrument's depths and rediscover its possibilities. ] ...

...but not before Wanda Landowska asked Francis Poulenc, "Write me a concerto!" and Poulenc responded with the Concert champêtre.

[FideLeo]

Wanda Landowska and Igor Kipnis certainly would have taken you up on that offer.

But Igor did go hip later, didn't he?   

[Harry Collier]

BTW, Beethoven was still playing harpsichords when
he was very young.  So how long did it take for the
fortepianos to come along?  Forty years?  Some
people need to get historically informed. 

They certainly do: the idea that Beethoven (or Mozart and Haydn) wrote reams and reams of harpsichord music is pure fantasy.

[FideLeo]

They certainly do: the idea that Beethoven (or Mozart and Haydn) wrote reams and reams of harpsichord music is pure fantasy.

Well some don't - not enough anyway. 

For one thing, all keyboard concertos Mozart wrote before K271 were certainly for harpsichords.  The solo parts in all of M.s fortepiano concertos were designated "Cembalo" in the manuscripts.   Not to mention Haydn.  Even Beethoven's first sonatas were published for "Pianoforte o Cembalo" so there you go.

ps. The first unambiguous references to Cristofori's "forte e piano" instruments dated from c. 1700.   

[Mozart]

The harpsichord has a much more interesting sound than the piano. The piano sounds like crap. Really, I don't know how someone can enjoy the sound of a piano without any sort of accompaniment.

[FideLeo]

The harpsichord has a much more interesting sound than the piano. The piano sounds like crap. Really, I don't know how someone can enjoy the sound of a piano without any sort of accompaniment.

Mozart hath spoken! 

[Florestan]

Really, I don't know how someone can enjoy the sound of a piano without any sort of accompaniment.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. 

[FideLeo]

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. 

Like the 57 Varieites of Heinz Ketchup? 

[Mark G. Simon]

I think the harpsichord is a wonderful and beautiful instrument. What's not to love about it?

[Florestan]

I think the harpsichord is a wonderful and beautiful instrument.

Agreed, agreed and agreed.

[prémont]

The harpsichord has a much more interesting sound than the piano. The piano sounds like crap. Really, I don't know how someone can enjoy the sound of a piano without any sort of accompaniment.

Why so strict? To be fair, the piano may sometimes be well suited for the performance of genuine piano music.

[Que]

ahhh yes...in that quest for more volume, nothing quite like the great stepping stone of mechanical sounding plucked strings...so much control, so much expression.

I regard the evolution from harpsichord to the piano not as improvement but as change: you win some, you loose some.. (in terms of characteristics and possibilities).

But the final step from the fresh and individual sound of the earlier piano(forte)s to the "big", overbearing and uniformly sounding modern ones, is definitely a great musical loss - diversity is always better than uniformity. The same is true about the clavichord, the harpsichord, the fortepiano and the pianoforte: they all have their musical purpose and value.

Q

[Florestan]

Is Chopin an improvement vis-a-vis Scarlatti?

They're just different. Same with harpsichord and piano. IMHO.

[Que]

Is Chopin an improvement vis-a-vis Scarlatti?

They're just different. Same with harpsichord and piano. IMHO.

Agreed!  So, that's settled then!

Now I'm just dying with curiosity what Sarge will make of his Scarlatti on the harpsichord with Hantaï...

Q

[FideLeo]

Of course when one gains some, one loses some elsewhere.  Playing loud and soft on a pianoforte, oh sure.
Try playing on it as evenly as one can on a harpsichord (or an organ); still sure?   Evolution theory
doesn't work with instruments, period.

Check the following article for some INFORMED opinions on the issue:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_history_and_musical_performance

[Harry Collier]

I think the harpsichord is a wonderful and beautiful instrument. What's not to love about it?

Its sound.