[NewMusic] Boesendorfer vs Steinway in the field...

[grobair at emusician.com]

Polly Moller shared with us:
<<Also he recommended in a faculty meeting that the most cost-effective
way for the music department to get another grand piano would be to take the
Steinway and the Bosendorfer out to the meadow
by College Eight and let nature take its course.>>

That would be the ultimate "field test". I vote for the Bösendorfer.

While in Vienna last week, I got a tour of the company's plant, including
the room where they build the CEUS pianos (with the digital
player-piano-like feature). It's pretty amazing to see an upside down piano
with 88 solenoids and a field of computer boards attached. Takes a few
months for the retrofit, and it ain't trivial.

The CEUS apparently has a greater resolution than the Yamaha Disklavier,
including the pedals. They had Gonzalo Rubacalba record some pieces into ii,
and when you watch the pedals while listening back, the level of nuance is
astounding. Not to mention the playing technique.

Hey Goodheart: I also saw a chamber music concert that included a piece b y
Swiss-composer Michael Pelzel, which included two pianos, tuned a 6-th tone
out from each other. And he used Ebows in them. Very nice piece. A recording
of the show sometime will  arrive here in the near future....