Be a Horowitz or own a Steinway D?

[pytheamateur]

Would you rather improve your playing of the piano or own a nice piano?

At first glance, this might be a silly question.  However, in real life, the two are very often mutually exclusive.  Just think of the money you could have saved from not having lessons with a good piano teacher, and the money you could have made by not being a professional musician.  This is all the more frustrating as the better you get at the piano, the more you dream of having a good piano.  Conversely, the better the piano you have, the more you want to improve your playing to do the instrument justice.

[wendling]

You are actualy corect in thinking. A good instrument does ad much to the person learning.  I actualy get the fealing the piano in away speaks to me while im playing it. 

[j_menz]

If you're a Horowitz, Steinway will lend you a D anytime you like. If you're a crap pianist, a D is completely wasted on you.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Without a doubt I would be a Horowitz. 

Because if I was a Horowitz, my potentially new teacher would feel eexxxtra salty for hating on me, I would enter every competition and win them all, and use that money to buy my own Steinway D!

THEN, I would get invitations from all over the world to perform, get my own piano shoes, piano brand, piano foundation, and piano school like Lang Lang, and take over the world!

Lol scratch out that last sentence, but you know what I mean...  But the main thing I would achieve out of this would be able to see my potentially new teachers face when he hears me play.  He'll be soooo mad!!! 

[j_menz]

Because if I was a Horowitz, my potentially new teacher would feel eexxxtra salty for hating on me, I would enter every competition and win them all, and use that money to buy my own Steinway D!

I believe the only competition Horowitz ever won was for (several) Grammies.

And if you were a Horowitz, you'd still have to practice hard, and your piano teacher would still criticise every mistake. You'd also be doing your first solo recital sometime this year.  Carnegie Hall in 2020. 

Get out your diary and pencil those in. I want free tickets to Carnegie. 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

And if you were a Horowitz, you'd still have to practice hard, and your piano teacher would still criticise every mistake. You'd also be doing your first solo recital sometime this year.  Carnegie Hall in 2020. 

Get out your diary and pencil those in. I want free tickets to Carnegie. 

Was that a compliment?

[j_menz]

Was that a compliment?

I'll tell you during the interval.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I'll tell you during the interval.

Practice practice practice...

[j_menz]

Practice practice practice...

Or just follow the map:



 

[marik1]

Would you rather improve your playing of the piano or own a nice piano?

At first glance, this might be a silly question.  However, in real life, the two are very often mutually exclusive.  Just think of the money you could have saved from not having lessons with a good piano teacher, and the money you could have made by not being a professional musician.  This is all the more frustrating as the better you get at the piano, the more you dream of having a good piano.  Conversely, the better the piano you have, the more you want to improve your playing to do the instrument justice.

Sviatoslav Richter:

"I never chose a piano--I demand not from piano, but from myself".

Best, M

[pytheamateur]

Sviatoslav Richter:

"I never chose a piano--I demand not from piano, but from myself".

Best, M

Thanks for this quote.  It must be right and something that we should all aspire to.  However, when one sees how many Steinways and Bechsteins are lying about as furniture in rich people's homes, and how many struggling professional pianists have to settle on sub-standard instruments, one can justifiably feel at least a little bit jealous.

[p2u_]

However, when one sees how many Steinways and Bechsteins are lying about as furniture in rich people's homes, and how many struggling professional pianists have to settle on sub-standard instruments, one can justifiably feel at least a little bit jealous.

Well, look at it from the bright side: those (rich) people need something to put their vases on or to impress visitors, right?

Paul

[marik1]

Well, look at it from the bright side: those (rich) people need something to put their vases on or to impress visitors, right?

We have to be thankful to those. They by large margin support the piano manufacturing--the reason we still have some quality instruments and not everyone moves the production to cheap labor countries, which in many cases by far compromises the quality.

The situation in other branches of music industry is much worse, where the piracy/cheap labor/computer distribution have already devastated music publishing houses, recording industry, pro-audio equipment industry, among others.

Best, M

[ionian_tinnear]

A story told to me by a piano teacher:

Liszt was hired to do a recital in a small town.  We he arrived and saw the piano they had for him to play he stated "It is too small, but I play it anyway".  The story concludes that his performance was, of course, magnificent.

Moral:  It is the player more than the instrument.

As pianists we seldom will get to chooose the instrument, we have to take what the give us to play.  I've played on some really horrible instruments.  Of the moral of this story expects the piano to be functional.  No broken keys,strings, pedals, etc.

But another story that I believe to be true about Keith Jarret for the recital that was recorded and released as the "Koln Koncerts".  The story goes, he drove to Koln to perform at an opera house that never allowed non-operas to be performed.  To get them to allow Jarrett's recitial, it had to be scheduled for midnight (it was standing room only anyway!).  We he arrived, the piano he requested, Bosi 290 I think, was not there.  A smaller, rehearsal piano was provided, another Bosi, maybe 190, that needed maintenance.  The story goes the pedals weren't working correctly.  Jarrett wanted to drop the recital, but in the performed, was recorded, and the recital was outstanding.  The recording is a famous album around here.

Again, the pianist is more important than the piano.  (unless it's total PoS!)

[pytheamateur]

Moral:  It is the player more than the instrument.


Again, the pianist is more important than the piano.  (unless it's total PoS!)

So, what should we make of statements like this one:

""Steinway is the only piano on which the pianist can do everything he wants. And everything he dreams." Vladimir Ashkenazy

Quite apart from it possibly being a mareting ploy, does such a statement reflect Ashkenazy's limitiations as a pianist?

[p2u_]

So, what should we make of statements like these:

""Steinway is the only piano on which the pianist can do everything he wants. And everything he dreams." Vladimir Ashkenazy

Quite apart from it possibly being a mareting ploy, does such a statement reflect Ashkenazy's limitiations as a pianist?

Well, part of it *is* promotion, of course. Steinway owns the market and everybody knows that. But some pianists openly promote other pianos. For example:
Valentina Lisitsa and Wibi Soerjadi say they love Bösendorfer and give concerts on it. Sviatoslav Richter played for Yamaha (that was most likely his piano technicians' decision), but he was also able to play impeccably on old Soviet upright pianos in people's homes (you need fingers of steel to get even mf) and he could do that even under conditions of frost, I swear. As far as I remember, Katsaris started his career with something exotic (Mark Allen or something) and recently I saw him recommend a Yamaha digital keyboard on YouTube, etc.

Paul

[pytheamateur]

sorry double posted.