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The ever beguiling Tiffany Poon plays Schumann on this piano, attributed to André Stein. It's fascinating how the mists of time impact the responses of listeners in the comments, as if the composer "speaks" through his wife and her piano. I have no problems with it. I'm moved as well.
Chickering & Sons Patrician 5’ 8.5” (174 cm) Aeolian-American Corp. East Rochester, NY
Thank you for posting! Listening to Traumerei on that piano was a special moment for myself.No not horrible at all but "magical",and different.The piano does sound similar to some old vintage pianos of today -a "special beauty all of their own".
It may be "magical", but it sounds pretty bad. Out of tune. If it has multiple strings per note, the unisons are out. Of course, there is probably no plate, so I bet it goes out of tune before you finish a piece.
And there is no guarantee that is what it sounded like in 1827 - probably not. I have heard some reproduction straight strung pianos that sound much better.
But it is "magical" in the sense that it was played by Clara and Robert and maybe others as well.
It may be "magical", but it sounds pretty bad. Out of tune. If it has multiple strings per note, the unisons are out. Of course, there is probably no plate, so I bet it goes out of tune before you finish a piece.
And there is no guarantee that is what it sounded like in 1827 - probably not. I have heard some reproduction straight strung pianos that sound much better.
But it is "magical" in the sense that it was played by Clara and Robert and maybe others as well.
Sam
Yes like some of the members pianos here in the Fall before they are tuned...Still nice to hear a tone that is not so standardized ...Yamaha Oh..! ..just another Cookie! It was interesting enough for the pianist to record and post on YouTube as well.If you have no imagination of course I understand. Out of tune flawed, still a thing of beauty!
It may be "magical", but it sounds pretty bad. Out of tune. If it has multiple strings per note, the unisons are out. Of course, there is probably no plate, so I bet it goes out of tune before you finish a piece.
And there is no guarantee that is what it sounded like in 1827 - probably not. I have heard some reproduction straight strung pianos that sound much better.
But it is "magical" in the sense that it was played by Clara and Robert and maybe others as well.
Sam
Yes like some of the members pianos here in the Fall before they are tuned...Still nice to hear a tone that is not so standardized ...Yamaha Oh..! ..just another Cookie! It was interesting enough for the pianist to record and post on YouTube as well.If you have no imagination of course I understand. Out of tune flawed, still a thing of beauty!
If I didn't tune my piano for ten years, I think it would sound better than this piano. It's the piano's provenance not its quality that makes it interesting.
Quality? The piano is a period instrument not comparable to as a modern piano.
My piano's voice is my voice to God and the great unknown universe, and to those I love. In other words a hymn. That is all, but that is enough. tre corda
But still tunable in a historically accurate manner. One should do that ideally soon before publishing a video to be seen worldwide demonstrating the historic qualities of the instrument.
But still tunable in a historically accurate manner. One should do that ideally soon before publishing a video to be seen worldwide demonstrating the historic qualities of the instrument.
Peter Grey Piano Doctor
I agree it would have been a great deal nicer! Even in its out of of tuness I could still hear the differences of timbre in the different registers, so different to the modern piano.Today we have a plush tone often, heavily influenced by Yamaha and Steinway. Of course we appreciate the piano of today but this is glimpse into that time,when great music was being written, before the piano was (sometimes) seen as just a commodity.I would love to have heard what a 19th century Pianoloverus would have had to say then at that time when he heard a beautiful Clara Schumann playing some of her husband's exquisite music on this piano.Would the piano have sounded far better, yes of course.I do believe we still we hear echoes of the original instrument in its present condition.The piano is obviously out of tune but not atonal.
Originally Posted by pianoloverus
Originally Posted by tre corda
Quality? The piano is a period instrument not comparable to as a modern piano.
Not comparable in terms of the quality of its sound.
Not comparable because being a modern person you have little idea of the aesthetic ideals of the 19th century.
Quality? The piano is a period instrument not comparable to as a modern piano.
Not comparable in terms of the quality of its sound.
Not comparable because being a modern person you have little idea of the aesthetic ideals of the 19th century.[/quote]I think the change in the piano's tone from early 19th to late 19th century was mostly because the makers and public/performers felt the newer tone was superior and not because the aesthetic changed. IOW if the earlier makers had been able to make a piano that sounded like the late 19th models they would have chosen to do so from the beginning.
It's certainly possible that if the piano in the video was in excellent tune, it would not sound so bad compared to current pianos but I doubt we'll ever know. I also find the tone on some forte pianos I've heard not as pleasing as modern pianos but definitely superior to the one in this thread.
Now I wonder what on earth could inspired Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven,and Schubert to write all those piano works.I wonder why they dressed so oddly? I mean those dreadful wigs and frills? How could Mozat write, what ..20 piano concertos, many distinctly for the forte piano and not the harpsichord. Wow what a fool! I mean then actually performing them in public on those tin cans? OK we know the man was not very successful in his own day.But he was known as a pianist.Even the dumbest aristocracy busy picking their noses during a performance could have told you that.
That Moonlight sonata written for what type of instrument? I mean just stick your foot down on the sustainig pedal at beginning of the Adagio and hold the pedal down forever into eternity? Perhaps it was magical? Try that today on modern piano, see what happens??? The Presto Agitato, I mean why write, why be inspired to write such a piece when you could not get the affect that you wanted.Just imagine the frustration?Then he goes on writes the Tempest, the Appasionata and much more? The Mozart concerto K466 written for a junkie fortepiano.The man must have been thick! 😳 But of course! They were composing just music for us..
My piano's voice is my voice to God and the great unknown universe, and to those I love. In other words a hymn. That is all, but that is enough. tre corda
Now I wonder what on earth could inspired Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven,and Schubert to write all those piano works.I wonder why they dressed so oddly? I mean those dreadful wigs and frills? How could Mozat write, what ..20 piano concertos, many distinctly for the forte piano and not the harpsichord. Wow what a fool! I mean then actually performing them in public on those tin cans? OK we know the man was not very successful in his own day.But he was known as a pianist.Even the dumbest aristocracy busy picking their noses during a performance could have told you that.
That Moonlight sonata written for what type of instrument? I mean just stick your foot down on the sustainig pedal at beginning of the Adagio and hold the pedal down forever into eternity? Perhaps it was magical? Try that today on modern piano, see what happens??? The Presto Agitato, I mean why write, why be inspired to write such a piece when you could not get the affect that you wanted.Just imagine the frustration?Then he goes on writes the Tempest, the Appasionata and much more? The Mozart concerto K466 written for a junkie fortepiano.The man must have been thick! 😳 But of course! They were composing just music for us..
Those composers wrote for the best instruments available at the time.That doesn't mean they wouldn't have preferred instruments from the late 1800's or the pianos of today. They didn't have the choice between those instruments. And it's certainly possible that the pianos Beethoven etc. performed on sounded better than the Wieck piano in this thread. I already said I thought the forte pianos I've heard sounded better than that piano.
http://www.frederickcollection.org/index.html Has anyone played any of the pianos at the Frederick Collection in Ashburnham, Massachusetts? We visited the collection a decade or more ago. We saw, but did not play any of the old instruments. Some were of the vintage of Beethoven and Clara Wieck.
Boesendorfer 225 (1985) Yamaha S400E (predecessor to CF4) Disklavier (1992)
Now I wonder what on earth could inspired Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven,and Schubert to write all those piano works.I wonder why they dressed so oddly? I mean those dreadful wigs and frills? How could Mozat write, what ..20 piano concertos, many distinctly for the forte piano and not the harpsichord. Wow what a fool! I mean then actually performing them in public on those tin cans? OK we know the man was not very successful in his own day.But he was known as a pianist.Even the dumbest aristocracy busy picking their noses during a performance could have told you that.
That Moonlight sonata written for what type of instrument? I mean just stick your foot down on the sustainig pedal at beginning of the Adagio and hold the pedal down forever into eternity? Perhaps it was magical? Try that today on modern piano, see what happens??? The Presto Agitato, I mean why write, why be inspired to write such a piece when you could not get the affect that you wanted.Just imagine the frustration?Then he goes on writes the Tempest, the Appasionata and much more? The Mozart concerto K466 written for a junkie fortepiano.The man must have been thick! 😳 But of course! They were composing just music for us..
