Originally posted by Eine Alpensinfonie
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'rapid decay' of course can't mean 'pianoforte' as you say..! So what on earth do we call a mid-19th century piano?
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A forerunner of something much better suited to the job?Originally posted by Tony View Post'rapid decay' of course can't mean 'pianoforte' as you say..! So what on earth do we call a mid-19th century piano?Comment
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Whilst I accept that most owners of fortepianos were all too keen to replace them with pianos in the early 19th centuries, there was a resistant lobby. Here's a few lines from a letter written by a 'Constant Reader' of the Northampton Mercury early in 1812, showing the continuing charms of the older instrument.Originally posted by cloughie View Post
Comparing two sorts of farmers, he wrote:
"One tricks out his daughters with forte-pianos, the latter puts them to the churn and spinning-wheel, the music of either is, by the bye, far better than that of the piano because neither is nearly so loud."Comment
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My Concise OED has:
"Mus. PIANOFORTE esp. wth ref. to an instrument of the 18th and early 19th Century."
It is simply a generic term denoting early pianos.... wiki has a good article...
As Ed exemplifies, its usage dates back to at least the early 19th Century; Merriam-Webster has an example from 1823.
Cristofori's original name for his invention was: gravicembalo col piano e forte, "harpsichord with soft and loud"....
I usually go to some trouble to discover, and specify, exactly which instrument is used on recordings or performances I cite or comment upon, as I do above about the Erard used for this concert.
But with bizarre overreaction like EA's in #15, not to mention frequent flippant and trivialising dismissal of such references and enthusiasms, I wonder why I bother.
The great Russian pianist, organist and fortepianist Olga Pashchenko has provided extensive notes on the history of such instruments in her remarkable recordings of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Dussek, emphasising the rapid development and wide diversity in sound and construction of the designs,
which grew in response to the burgeoning repertoire for the keyboard in the later 18th Century.
An important point she makes is how much more individual their sound is across different piano builders, whereas in the later 20th Century the sound of the modern grand tends to become more homogenised, as in the ubiquitous Steinway D etc.
Of course, Steinways themselves date back to the mid-19th Century, Bösendorfers even earlier.
The development of the piano, whether forte is prefix or suffix, is a continuum; there's no crude cut-off point between fortepiano or 19th Century Pianoforte (Erard, Schleicher, as preferred by Brahms) and our modern grand; a prime mover for its development was the need to fill larger concert halls, be audible against larger more powerful orchestras......and so on. But the very sonic diversity of earlier pianos is one among several reasons why some of us have become so fond of them in performance.
Olga Pashchenko was recently appointed Professor of Fortepiano at the Amsterdam Conservatoire.Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 18-08-19, 03:19.Comment
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One of my discs of last year was the Debussy from Melnikov (Preludes Bk2) and La Mer for 4 hands with Pashchenko as partner - bewitching instrumental sonorities and sensitive virtuosity from the players.Comment
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I personally prefer the term 'early piano' or 'period piano' to denote an 18th or 19th century instrument.
To confuse matters even further, here in France, 'pianoforte' is used to denote an early piano.Comment
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Hmm - maybe it’s just me but that piano really didn’t sound in tune at all. I can’t say I found it either an informative or attractive experience at all, I did try!Comment
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I enjoyed both Mendelssohn works. What a fine pianist Stephen Hough* is!
I thought the two presenters managed to stay on the right side of the line that divides enthusiasm from excitability.
* I know that he's appeared many times at the Proms and is understandably very popular - does anybody happen to know which soloist holds the record for the most appearances?Comment
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Not to these ears! As the unusually perceptive BBC presenter (a new one on me - more please!) remarked, one really felt one was transported back to one of Victoria and ALbert's musical soirees. The lieder ohne worte andante really allowed to sing beautifully by Hough. OK, occasionally the instrument sounded like it was being driven to its limits in the outer movements but given the fact it probably hadn't been played for a century, hardly surprising!Originally posted by Braunschlag View PostComment
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Are you referring to Petroc Trelawney, or to Suzannah Lipscomb, who is a historian with an obvious interest in musical matters. We first saw her on 'Countdown'. Unlike certain other TV historians, she mercifully decided not to come dressed in period costume.Originally posted by Sir Velo View PostComment
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I believe it had been thoroughly overhauled by an early piano restorer before it's appearance. I quite like the sound but was reminded of a silent pictures piano when the tempo quickened. For me then better in slower more reflective passages where it's essentially salon voice seemed better suited.Originally posted by Sir Velo View PostComment
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Pf tuning sounded like 19th c. Equal Temperament to me, i.e. not entirely equal. Every key has a particualr colour; far more so that 20th-21st c. Equal Temperament.
The tenor was excellent, even though I'm not a fan of fast (caprine) vibrato. Excellent German and a little reminscent of Wunderlich.Last edited by Guest; 20-08-19, 10:41.Comment
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