Performing on historical instruments?

[nilsjohan]

It is of course invaluable to have the opportunity to try out and work on pieces on an instrument of the kind that the composer is most likely to have used. This will help you to understand the composition better.
Is it really a good idea to perform using a less developed kind of instrument than the modern piano?
Isn't it like playing tennis today with a wooden racket like Björn Borg's in the 70's?

[martin_s]

What we always must keep in mind is that historical instruments must not nescessarily be seen as less developed instruments. They where often very well suited and adjusted for the kind of playing they were used for at the time. For instance a hammerklavier from the early nineteenth century would produce a rich variety of different sounds and colours from bass to treble that would actually help cutting through an orchestra of that period or help different parts of a composition being heard more clearly. Whereas a modern bloody Steinway (which I happen to like a lot BTW) aims at producing exactly the same sound all over... Very well suited to Prokofiev or Messiaen for example. (although 1940's Steinways sounded considerably different to modern ones but still...) But maybe not equally well suited to music from other periods.

And the other aspect is off course that it is absolutely crucial to  know certain things about the instrument the composer would have had in mind.
One good example of this I just came across as I am currently playing the Beethoven Emperor Concerto: Just after the first three racks of triads moving up, where the trill A-Bb begins there is a * (release the pedal) - sign in the score. On Beethoven's piano (or indeed even on an early twentieth century Steinway!) that would have made the loud basses ringing in the pedal stay on for quite a bit into the trill, whereas on a modern Steinway (or, even worse, a modern Yamaha that's got 12'' dampers) releasing the pedal in that way would just make a silly, abrupt, bumpy, noise getting your listeners to believe that your foot slipped off the pedal. So what I think that means is that in order to produce the same effect on our modern pianos we need to flutter the pedal off during the course of a couple of crochets...

[Laura]

Has anyone heard of a pianist who performs on his own Broadwood?  I cannot remember his name and am uncertain if he is still living.  Does anyone know what would be involved in setting up the piano prior to a performance (i.e., voicing, regulating, practice time) or can anyone direct me to a sight with such information?   Thank you.

[rmc7777]

Laura,

I don't know if this is what you had in mind, but I have a CD by John Khouri.  He plays four Beethoven sonatas on an 1801 Broadwood Fortepiano, which apparently is very similar to one that Beethoven owned.  The CD is published by Music and Arts Programs of America, Inc.(never heard of them before buying this CD) and the CD number is CD-1022.  There are a few paragraphs in the liner notes that talk about how the piano was set up for the recordings.  Hope this helps...

Richard

[rachfan]

I guess the debate is one between authenticity (playing period music on period instruments) or adapting period music to modern instruments.  Many people don't know it, but it's a fact that Bach played the piano.  It was invented toward the end of his lifetime, and he got to try out the earliest, unperfected pianos--but still preferred the harpsichord.  However, if Bach could return to us today and sit at a Steinway D or a Baldwin SD10, he'd be blown away by power, capabilities, and potential that he never even dreamed possible.  (Liszt would marvel at it, of course, because he always wanted the latest and greatest in piano technology and development.)  Likewise, I have no doubt that Bach would adapt immediately to the modern instrument and all its possibilities.  He'd love playing a Partita on a Steinway--and it would be interesting to see what he would do with the pedal once he became accustomed to it!  

While it might be interesting to me to hear a Schubert or Beethoven sonata played once or twice on a fortepiano as a historical curiosity, had I not suffered through that too many times already, I far prefer to hear those and other Baroque and Viennese Classical composers' works performed on the modern piano which does more justice to their soaring visions.

I started playing piano when I was 8.  My first instrument was a Chickering "square grand" from the 1800s with the smaller keyboard radius, the tinny tone, the fear of breaking a hammer when playing a bass chord, etc.  The tuner almost had a nervous breakdown trying to service it.  When he quit, I had to tune it with a roller skate key.  (Inline skates hadn't been invented yet--you locked the roller skate onto the sole of your shoe using a key.)  I was never so overjoyed as when I got my first real piano. Playing that old Chickering was enough exposure to period pianos to last me a lifetime!    

[SteveK]

I have to agree with nilsjohan!

As for me, I would rather perform on a Steinway modern piano or something of similar quality! Too many times I have had to use older pianos that weren't up to par, not even with my piano at home! But of course, to see and hear what it was really like in the early days can be a nice experience, but not something I want to happen all the time! It's always nice to imagine and hear what it was like in the times of the great artists!

[Brian Lawson, RPT]

The two other differences between playing a piano today and that of a piano of way back when is that

1) the pitch was not necessarily at A440 , see:

https://www.uk-piano.org/history/pitch.html


or 2) tuned to equal temprement.

https://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html

[tosca1]

I too agree with nilsjohan and it would seem that there are no piano Luddites here.  The old instruments were much less stable in their tuning and as there was no iron frame or plate they were prone to structural instability as well.
As martin_s has reminded us we must of course take into account musical style when performing works of different periods on the modern piano.  Obviously the approach is different when playing Debussy compared to when playing Bach. There are differences  in touch,  the use of the pedals and in every aspect of interpretation.
I also believe  that the modern piano can enhance  keyboard works written for the precursors of the fully evolved instrument which appeared in the mid to late nineteenth century.

Of course the early instruments are of much historical interest and many are exquisite pieces of craftmanship, but they are obsolete now when compared to the richness , power and strength of the modern piano.

[athykay]

Has anybody here taken the tour of the Fredericks'  Historical Pianos collection in Ashburnham, Massachuetts?  I've posted a link from  Pianoworld  of  a recent tour.  If you ever get the change to visit there, do!  It totally changed my perspective on historical pianos, which prior to the visit was largely, they're interesting but not interesting enough to particularly want to play them and less so, to hear performances on them.  Now I crave going back and trying different pieces on the the pianos of the period during which they were written.
https://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/1/8542.html#000000