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| What Piano(s) Do You Own and Why?; Inquiring Minds | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 1 2009, 03:01 PM (5,147 Views) | |
| AndyD | Dec 2 2009, 04:47 AM Post #76 |
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Senior Carp
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Bluthner model B. Due to lack of space it had to be an upright. Luckily in and around London one is able to sample most brands. Toss up between a Bechstein Concert 8 and the one I bought. If I'd had the space it would have been a grand; favourite of all I played was the Stuart & Sons 290. |
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Every morning the soul is once again as good as new, and again one offers it to one's brothers & sisters in life. | |
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| Piano*Dad | Dec 2 2009, 04:50 AM Post #77 |
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Bull-Carp
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Thanks QI. He works hard at it. |
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| VPG | Dec 2 2009, 07:02 AM Post #78 |
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Pisa-Carp
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I live in an apartment so no piano any longer, but in my last forty some years in the industry I have owned the following: Gulbranson, Knabe, Kawai (V), Kawai (G), Kohler&Cambell, Young Chang (V), Kurtzweil, Young Chang (G), Petrof (V), Petrof (G) Sort of like my career resume. |
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I'M NOT YELLING.........I'M ITALIAN...........THAT'S HOW WE TALK! "People say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look." Ronald Reagan, Inaugural, 1971 | |
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| plays88keys | Dec 2 2009, 07:18 AM Post #79 |
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Pisa-Carp
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I own a NY Steinway L that continues to surprise and delight me. Do you have a favorite composer? I ask because I think some pianos are more suited to a particular era of music. I bought my piano thinking it was best suited for Beethoven, because it has a very deep and rumbling bass; however, I've recently discovered that it's really more of a Chopin piano. A friend recently played a familiar nocturne and I was stunned at how alive and gorgeous it sounded on my piano. Unfortunately for me, Chopin and I do not get along all that well! So, I would suggest that you take samples of your favorite composer's work each and every time you look at a piano and note how your ears react to the piano when you play. |
| You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. | |
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| QuirtEvans | Dec 2 2009, 07:21 AM Post #80 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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That's a terrible shame. You should give it to me. I can't play Chopin, but I can live with that if the piano can. |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| Mikhailoh | Dec 2 2009, 07:28 AM Post #81 |
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
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I find Chopin very difficult myself. Always have. Beautiful, but I never can quite get anything polished up to my satisfaction. It usually looks simple enough, but that is, for me, deceptive. |
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Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
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| QuantumIvory | Dec 2 2009, 07:53 AM Post #82 |
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Senior Carp
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Chopin is in my top 3, the other two are Beethoven and Bach. When playing their music I use the left side of my brain for Beethoven, the right side for Chopin, and both sides for Bach.
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"I regard consciousness as fundamental. We cannot get behind consciousness." -Max Planck | |
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| plays88keys | Dec 2 2009, 07:55 AM Post #83 |
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Pisa-Carp
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I have exceptionally small hands and Chopin is not a good match for that. I can play some of his simpler works - a few waltzes, mazurkas and preludes - but I can't manage more than that. In 2000, I hit my performance wall trying to play the Raindrop prelude, resulting in three months of extensive physical therapy to get the feeling back in my left arm. I haven't touched anything by Chopin since then. |
| You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. | |
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| QuantumIvory | Dec 2 2009, 08:06 AM Post #84 |
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Senior Carp
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My hands are small too, plays. I started the Raindrop back in February and it took me about 2 months to get it halfway right, then; for whatever reason, I left it alone for a while. I picked it up again a couple of weeks ago though and hope to have it done in a couple more weeks. It's a great piece! |
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"I regard consciousness as fundamental. We cannot get behind consciousness." -Max Planck | |
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| plays88keys | Dec 2 2009, 08:08 AM Post #85 |
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Pisa-Carp
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It is a beautiful piece, one I wanted to play very badly; unfortunately, it nearly cost me the ability to play anything. Maybe you will post a recording of you playing it once it is comfortably under your hands? I have a recording of Jean Yves Thibaudet playing it on Chopin's Erard piano - it is achingly beautiful. Edited by plays88keys, Dec 2 2009, 08:10 AM.
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| You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. | |
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| kenny | Dec 2 2009, 08:12 AM Post #86 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Funny, I find Chopin (the modest pieces I have played) fits under my hands well, and I can only reach a ninth. Also I find Chopin relatively easy to memorize compared to other composers. |
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| QuantumIvory | Dec 2 2009, 08:12 AM Post #87 |
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Senior Carp
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I have that CD as well. As I recall, his tempo is quite slow and very effective. |
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"I regard consciousness as fundamental. We cannot get behind consciousness." -Max Planck | |
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| QuantumIvory | Dec 2 2009, 08:19 AM Post #88 |
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Senior Carp
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Yeah, me too, kenny. Just to be clear though, I'm basically a hack and could never tackle the difficult Chopin pieces. Sure, I can play some of the Op. 28 preludes and a couple of waltzes, but I couldn't get past the first page of, say, the Ballade in G-minor. (I'd give my left arm to be able to play that.) |
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"I regard consciousness as fundamental. We cannot get behind consciousness." -Max Planck | |
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| kenny | Dec 2 2009, 08:19 AM Post #89 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Hey another Blüthner man! ![]() Steve Miller has one too. His is a grand, 6' 3" or the 6' 10". You realize don't you that this make us better than everyone else here? ![]() So how does the Blüthner B upright compare the Bechstein Concert 8. |
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| plays88keys | Dec 2 2009, 08:20 AM Post #90 |
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Pisa-Carp
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Oh, and Quirt? Nice try!
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| You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. | |
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| kenny | Dec 2 2009, 08:22 AM Post #91 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Plays, and Big John, don't you guys get sick and tired of people dissing Steinway? Do you ever think jealousy plays into it? |
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| Larry | Dec 2 2009, 08:38 AM Post #92 |
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Mmmmmmm, pie!
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Jealousy doesn't have anything to do with it for me. I just think that for the kind of money they ask for one the least they could do is finish building it. It would also be nice if they'd spend a little money learning how to put on a finish. |
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Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
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| plays88keys | Dec 2 2009, 08:39 AM Post #93 |
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Pisa-Carp
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Kenny, yes and yes. I can't think of any other piano that is attacked with such ferocity.
Edited by plays88keys, Dec 2 2009, 08:40 AM.
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| You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. | |
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| Larry | Dec 2 2009, 08:47 AM Post #94 |
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Mmmmmmm, pie!
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Please understand that I think Steinway pianos can be nice pianos once they've been worked over. I've played lots of Steinways that I thought were very nice pianos. But Steinway isn't "attacked" because of jealousy, in fact it's the other way around. Most Steinways are sold to people who buy them as a status symbol, and never play them. Some "attacks" might come from people who want to be in the "club" but can't afford it, but my comments regarding them are purely from a technical standpoint. |
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Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
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| Mikhailoh | Dec 2 2009, 08:53 AM Post #95 |
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
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Yamaha. Oh, and those Suzukis, but that's OK. ![]() The finest piano I ever played was a Steinway. It fairly played itself. But it had a whole lot of work done on it, concert prep. The several B's I have played out of the box were truly awful. Like they put socks on the hammers and nailed the keys down. Edited by Mikhailoh, Dec 2 2009, 08:54 AM.
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Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
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| Piano*Dad | Dec 2 2009, 09:04 AM Post #96 |
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Bull-Carp
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Oooh, I'd like to find a piano that fairly played itself as long as people understood that it was actually me! |
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| Luke's Dad | Dec 2 2009, 09:06 AM Post #97 |
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Emperor Pengin
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Would a Disklavier be an example of a piano that unfairly plays itself? |
| The problem with having an open mind is that people keep trying to put things in it. | |
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| Piano*Dad | Dec 2 2009, 09:09 AM Post #98 |
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Bull-Carp
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And on the Steinway bashing, in my experience at PW an awful lot of those bad threads begin from some form of Steinway glorification that is often transparently stupid. Those of us who have the audacity to question the view that Steinway is clearly and obviously the most marvelous music machine ever constructed, and that everything else is just a second best substitute, and that those Boston's are soooo much better than a Kawai because of that genius Steinway team of designers who studiously avoiding including plastic .... well, we get accused of being bashers by the frankly dumb glorifiers. Like Larry, I have played many a fine Steinway. They deserve their position in the pantheon, but no more so than about a dozen or more other brands. |
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| plays88keys | Dec 2 2009, 09:25 AM Post #99 |
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Pisa-Carp
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Well, just try to view it from the perspective of an owner who loves and plays the piano. How would you feel if you read many nasty things being said about an instrument that brings you so much personal satisfaction and enjoyment? It's hurtful and an indirect insult to personal taste.
Edited by plays88keys, Dec 2 2009, 09:26 AM.
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| You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. | |
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| PattyP | Dec 2 2009, 09:28 AM Post #100 |
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Senior Carp
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I’m not to the point where I know which composer I may prefer. I'm nowhere near being able to attempt anything classical. I took lessons as a kid for about a year or so and a couple short stints in the last nine years so I am still at an elementary level. I’ll probably play more sacred music pieces, at least for starters. At my last lesson period, I started working my way through Alfred's Adult All-in-One level 3![]() so I have a long way to go before I’m comfortable with anything classical, even if it’s an “easy” version. I have an old copy of John Thompson's World Famous Melodies Easy to Play ![]() now broken into two volumes, that was included with a spinet my mother bought from a co-work when I was a child. My sister and I have had great times playing these pieces together and it is one of the books I’ve started taking with me on my piano search. So, I can't choose a composer, yet. But, this is so darn exciting! |
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A tired dog is a good dog. "Dogs' lives are too short...their only fault, really." A.S. Turnbull | |
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