TLS 5.11.11: Angela Hewitt: Vox in a box
Premise Checker
COMPANY OF PIANOS. By Richard Burnett. 240pp. Third Millennium. Pounds 30
(US $55). - 1 903942 35 7
A concert pianist touring the world today can be fairly certain that in
major venues he or she will find a Steinway concert grand. In America, the
New York Steinway will, at its best, be a powerful if rather strident (and
in my opinion, clumsy) piano, capable of projecting Rachmaninov and
Tchaikovsky above an orchestra in concert halls of 2,500 seats or more. In
Europe and Asia, the German Steinway, made in Hamburg, is prevalent, with
its more subtle tone and action.
This makes many performers feel "safe" -having at least something familiar
under their fingers, even though no two pianos are exactly the same.
A century and a half ago, this was hardly the case. Viennese pianos, with
their light action and delicate touch, were known for their clarity. English
pianos, on the other hand, had a heavier feel, and were more powerful and
resonant, giving quite a different tone colour. They were known and admired
for a wash of sound which, to modern ears, would have suggested that the
dampers weren't working properly. The sustaining mechanism of the piano
first appeared as a hand lever, and since it was impossible to play and
operate the device at the same time, people became accustomed to the blurred
effect. The French instruments of Ignace Pleyel and Sebastien Erard were
different again, but distinct from each other (as Chopin testified,
preferring the Erard for its ease of execution, but the Pleyel when he felt
he had more strength).
Consequently, the musical experience in travelling from one place to another
would have varied. Composers wrote music that showed off what a particular
piano could do, or -in the case of Beethoven who regularly broke strings
when playing his own works -couldn't yet do. The two were inseparably
linked. Today, many pianists approach a piece of Mozart, Beethoven, or even
Chopin, without thinking for a moment about the instruments the pieces were
written for, and yet such considerations are vital to their interpretation,
whether or not one ends up playing them on a modern grand or on an
"authentic" fortepiano.
These concerns are wonderfully brought to life in Richard Burnett's Company
of Pianos. This marvellously illustrated book is in fact an extensive guide
to the sixty-one instruments of the Finchcocks Collection in Goudhurst,
Kent.
I remember visiting the collection seventeen years ago and hearing Mr
Burnett give a lively demonstration on a wide range of instruments: spinets
and virginals, harpsichords and square pianos, vertical and grand pianos,
"sewing table" and "pyramid" pianos, harmoniums and chamber organs -even a
euphonicon ("harp piano"). The humour and expertise he showed on that
occasion are also present in his writing.
The book is divided into two sections: Instruments and Performance. At the
outset I was happy to find Burnett underlining something which, as a player
of Bach on the modern piano, I often try to point out: the piano was
invented because keyboard players in the early eighteenth century were
disappointed not to have an instrument that could "imitate the cadence of
the human voice". They also wanted something powerful. The harpsichord made
a great continuo instrument -indeed, the baroque orchestra on modern
instruments sounds "wrong" without it -but, as a solo instrument, it lacked
projection. It fell to J. C.
Bach to give the first ever public performance on a square piano. This took
place in 1768 in the Thatched House Tavern in St James's Street, London, on
a tiny piano made by Johannes Zumpe -one of several German piano makers who
came to England to practise their trade.
Burnett takes us on a splendid voyage through the evolutionary history of
keyboard construction, describing each instrument of the Finchcocks
Collection in vivid detail. We learn about the different mutation devices
such as the keyboard shift, the moderator, and the "bassoon" stop (a device
that gave a buzzing sound to the lower strings). In the story of the search
for an ever more powerful instrument, he alights on one late
eighteenth-century invention that must have seemed ingenious at the time:
the "Nag's Head Swell" -a pedal or knee lever that would lift part or all of
the piano lid. Presumably, as Burnett points out, it took some skill not to
let the lid come crashing down after use.
There is excellent social history here, too. The major piano manufacturers
are evoked with anecdotes, diary excerpts and vivid accounts of their life
and work.
The most fascinating of these biographical sketches is that of Clementi,
born in Rome in 1752 but literally "bought" at the age of fourteen by an
Englishman from Dorset in order to be his house musician. Along with the
Collard brothers, the composer established the firm Clementi & Co, and also
thrived as a music publisher. He died a wealthy man, and was buried in
Westminster Abbey. Erard, a favourite of the French aristocracy, got word of
the Revolution in time, and escaped to England, only returning once it was
safe to do so, but with a great deal more knowledge about piano construction
under his belt. Broadwood, the oldest piano company still in business today,
had an amazing output by the 1830s of 2,000 pianos a year. One of them went
to Beethoven in 1818 -a six-octave instrument of which he was very fond.
Pianos used to be a standard piece of furniture in every home, which
explains why the craftsmanship and outward appearance were so important and
impressive.
It also accounts for the popularity of the square piano, which could double
as a table or a bookshelf and be neatly stored away in a corner. One of the
most vivid pictures painted by Burnett is that of the huge bonfire on the
beach of Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1904, when a thousand square pianos
were burned to a crisp. The main manufacturers got together to put on this
show in order to declare the "square" dead. The problem was that the stable
iron frame made it such a durable instrument that people with squares felt
no need for change.
The second part of Company of Pianos focuses on how the interpretation and
composition of eighteenth-and nineteenth-century keyboard music were related
to the instruments available. Burnett gives us apt examples from both
familiar and unfamiliar pieces. It is good to be reminded that when Mozart
wrote the same musical phrases for different parts of the keyboard, he knew
that they would have a unique flavour with each variation in pitch. Too many
pianos these days are voiced to have the same uniform (although often
flawless) sound from top to bottom, which can be boring in the long run.
Of course, much of this would be a matter of informed conjecture if we were
not still able to hear the instruments for ourselves. Burnett and his
colleague at Finchcocks, Steven Devine, have therefore recorded a CD,
included with the book, which gives imaginative examples on thirty-three
instruments. Those on chamber organ are particularly lovely. The repertoire
chosen includes some obvious extracts (Beethoven's Minuet in G) along with
many from off the beaten track. Particularly colourful are the German Dances
by Schubert, which use the percussion effects of "Turkish Music" (objects
put into the piano such as drums, bells and cymbals, operated by a special
pedal). There is also a very useful glossary and keyboard chronology
compiled by the museum's curator, William Dow.
The piano-manufacturing business these days has gone the same way as many
industries: the brand name is kept, but the instrument is made more cheaply
in China, Korea, Japan, or Eastern Europe. Global competition means less
variety.
The Pearl River piano factory in China has 4,000 employees and is increasing
production to 100,000 pianos a year, which they fabricate for more than
twenty different companies around the world. How many people, when going to
buy a piano, realize that their Bechstein could have been made in Germany or
in Korea by Samick, depending on the model number (and price); or that the
Boston piano designed and sold by Steinway is made by Kawai? There are
still, however, smaller piano makers such as Paolo Fazioli in Italy (who
makes 100 beautiful grand pianos a year in his factory near Venice),
Steingraeber in Bayreuth, and Stuart in Australia (to name but three), who
are determined to do things on their own.
Fazioli himself tries out each piano his factory produces in the same way
John Brinsmead used to do, well into his nineties, back in the nineteenth
century.
For those pianists who want to experiment with different sound worlds, there
is still a choice. After reading Company of Pianos, I found myself playing
Beethoven with a heightened awareness of what that choice was all about -and
for that alone I am grateful.
William Sommerwerck
Steinway that it develop a wholly new piano with an electronic action. This
would allow the pianist to adjust the action and "touch" to precisely what
he or she felt comfortable with, or desired for a particular work. (It also
turned the piano into a reproducing instrument.) How it might have been able
to adjust the piano's character and "tone", I don't know. (Likely not much.)
Naturally, Steinway wasn't the least bit interested.
laraine
> TLS 5.11.11: Angela Hewitt: Vox in a box
>
> COMPANY OF PIANOS. By Richard Burnett. 240pp. Third Millennium. Pounds 30
> (US $55). - 1 903942 35 7
I changed the title of the post because I didn't see
what it had to do with Angela Hewitt, unless
there's a joke I'm missing there.
[snip]
> The second part of Company of Pianos focuses on how the interpretation and
> composition of eighteenth-and nineteenth-century keyboard music were related
> to the instruments available. Burnett gives us apt examples from both
> familiar and unfamiliar pieces. It is good to be reminded that when Mozart
> wrote the same musical phrases for different parts of the keyboard, he knew
> that they would have a unique flavour with each variation in pitch. Too many
> pianos these days are voiced to have the same uniform (although often
> flawless) sound from top to bottom, which can be boring in the long run.
>
> Of course, much of this would be a matter of informed conjecture if we were
> not still able to hear the instruments for ourselves. Burnett and his
> colleague at Finchcocks, Steven Devine, have therefore recorded a CD,
> included with the book, which gives imaginative examples on thirty-three
> instruments. Those on chamber organ are particularly lovely. The repertoire
> chosen includes some obvious extracts (Beethoven's Minuet in G) along with
> many from off the beaten track. Particularly colourful are the German Dances
> by Schubert, which use the percussion effects of "Turkish Music" (objects
> put into the piano such as drums, bells and cymbals, operated by a special
> pedal).
It is frustrating to me that we have lost not only much
of the knowledge, but also the ability to play those kinds
of effects on modern acoustic pianos.
>There is also a very useful glossary and keyboard chronology
> compiled by the museum's curator, William Dow.
>
> The piano-manufacturing business these days has gone the same way as many
> industries: the brand name is kept, but the instrument is made more cheaply
> in China, Korea, Japan, or Eastern Europe. Global competition means less
> variety.
>
> The Pearl River piano factory in China has 4,000 employees and is increasing
> production to 100,000 pianos a year, which they fabricate for more than
> twenty different companies around the world. How many people, when going to
> buy a piano, realize that their Bechstein could have been made in Germany or
> in Korea by Samick, depending on the model number (and price); or that the
> Boston piano designed and sold by Steinway is made by Kawai? There are
> still, however, smaller piano makers such as Paolo Fazioli in Italy (who
> makes 100 beautiful grand pianos a year in his factory near Venice),
> Steingraeber in Bayreuth, and Stuart in Australia (to name but three), who
> are determined to do things on their own.
>
> Fazioli himself tries out each piano his factory produces in the same way
> John Brinsmead used to do, well into his nineties, back in the nineteenth
> century.
>
No matter what one's opinion about outsourcing, I
don't think we should assume (if that is what is
implied) that items manufactured in other countries
are of lesser quality.
C.
[snip]
Bob Lombard
> On Dec 18, 3:45 am, Premise Checker <chec...@panix.com> wrote:
>> TLS 5.11.11: Angela Hewitt: Vox in a box
>>
>
> No matter what one's opinion about outsourcing, I
> don't think we should assume (if that is what is
> implied) that items manufactured in other countries
> are of lesser quality.
>
> C.
>
Have examined/played a Chinese clarinet?
bl
Peter T. Daniels
> On Dec 18, 3:45 am, Premise Checker <chec...@panix.com> wrote:
>
> > TLS 5.11.11: Angela Hewitt: Vox in a box
>
> > COMPANY OF PIANOS. By Richard Burnett. 240pp. Third Millennium. Pounds 30
> > (US $55). - 1 903942 35 7
>
> I changed the title of the post because I didn't see
> what it had to do with Angela Hewitt, unless
> there's a joke I'm missing there.
Um, she wrote the book review that Mr Checker ripped off from the TLS
website?
Matthew�B.�Tepper
following letters to be typed in news:62tXm.220968$mn3.208944@en-nntp-
03.dc1.easynews.com:
> laraine wrote:
>> On Dec 18, 3:45 am, Premise Checker <chec...@panix.com> wrote:
>>> TLS 5.11.11: Angela Hewitt: Vox in a box
>
>>
>> No matter what one's opinion about outsourcing, I don't think we should
>> assume (if that is what is implied) that items manufactured in other
>> countries are of lesser quality.
>
> Have examined/played a Chinese clarinet?
A Chinese clarinet is bad enough, but oh, those leaden reeds...!
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers