October 2019
The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama RWCMD and BBC National Orchestra of Wales seek Head Technician
Grand Accordion made by Polyester Training Day GianCarlo Francanella At the Caradine’s Workshop 2 CONTENTS
Editorial — 4 President Writes — 5 Membership News — 6 Scottish Autumn Lunch — 7 May 2019 Visit to Rome — 8 Polyester Training Day — 10 Job Opportunity in Wales: Head Technician Sought — 12 Tuning Those Bottom Bass Notes — 14 Accordion Visit to Castelfidardo — 16 Training Days Update — 19 Broadwood’s Folly — 20 Letters to the Editor — 22 Why Extend the Range of the Piano? — 24 Letters to the Editor — 29 Council Report — 30 PTA Diary of Events — 31
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The next deadline for PTA News is: Friday 29th November 2019. PTA News is the Newsletter of the Pianoforte Tuners’ Association. All views expressed are those of the contributors, not necessarily reflecting those of the PTA or the editorial team. Please send items for publication to ‘The Editor’, preferably via email with photographs sent separately from the text. Posted items can only be returned if accompanied by an SAE. Please obtain the necessary permission before submitting copyright items. PTA News, 49 South Hamilton Street, KILMARNOCK KA1 2DT Email: [email protected]
3 EDITORIAL ANNE BURTON
There is the marvellous opportunity for a PTA Member to become the Head Technician for the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and for BBC National Orchestra of Wales. See p12 although more details of the role should be had from the Music Manager [email protected] Thank you to Mario Campanale for his photographs and articles about his two Italian trips earlier this year. I hadn’t known that he was a keen accordionist but did know about his singing prowess, see pp8 and 16. Thanks to Roberta for her pics of the Polyester Training Day that she and Barry gave at their workshop and thanks also to Paul Shearman for his article (p.10) and photos about the day. Please note the new Training Day date on 17 November that Andrew Giller updates us about on p19. Booking is possible either by going to the PTA website or by using the inserted form. On p14 the difficulties of tuning bass strings are addressed by Adrian Carpenter. This useful article is a bit longer than the ‘Quick Tips’ we have had before but very welcome and important. Please send in any tips you can share; email and postal address for PTA News at the foot of p3. I’m looking forward to my trip up to Glasgow for the Scottish Autumn Lunch and the visit to Glasgow Piano City. If you would like to attend or if you have any questions about how to get there, please phone me; details are on p7. We have the concluding instalment of Paul Corbin’s article about extending the range of the piano on p24. The PTA is very grateful to Paul and to Stuart & Sons for permission to print the article in full in the Newsletter. I’m delighted to have the photo from Bruce Hayes of his Oscar Peterson autograph. I hope that Bruce was able to stay on for the concert. I was most disappointed not to have shared Broadwood’s Folly with Roy O’Neil, see p20. Finally, John Thompson has kindly given me advanced notice of a PTDAE 2-day Seminar to be held on Monday and Tuesday, the 24th and 25th February 2020. Precision Touch Design is a fascinating subject and very worth looking into, particularly if you are a new Tuner/Technician starting out. I hope to include an article from John about PTD in the next issue of the Newsletter.
Photographs throughout this Newsletter from the Convention in Bedford this year were taken by Andrew Jamieson.
4 THE PRESIDENT WRITES BARRY CARADINE
We must all be prepared for change. Change, or what we might also call progress, is a fact of life and a necessary evil. We might not always like it, but more often than not it is for the best. To this end we recently held our first Executive Council meeting via Skype. So, why the change? We are doing this for the benefit of those serving on Council, who give up a considerable amount of their time to help our Association. Executive Council meetings have, since their inception, always been held face to face at various venues in London, latterly and for many years at Morley’s in Lewisham. Travel to and from these meetings has become increasingly difficult and time consuming, as well as expensive. It is also restrictive for those who live at a distance and would be happy to get involved in the Executive Council. Skype meetings put an end to this, save the Association and Members of the Council a not an inconsiderable amount of money as well as time and (being very trendy) reduces the carbon footprint of the Association significantly. I am not saying that this was easy as it was outside the comfort zone of most of us who took part, but it did work and with a little perseverance I am sure it will work really well. Only by pushing a little outside of our comfort zone can things change, or should I say progress. Our next meeting in November will also be held this way and we will see how that goes. Of course, you are all entitled to “attend” Executive Council Meetings as an Observer. If you wish to, please contact Annette and we can arrange for you to do so via Skype. If you think with this change you would like to help us by joining Council, please also contact Annette as your assistance would be welcomed. Sometimes change is not of our making. Next year our Convention, traditionally Thursday to Saturday, changes. Due to the May bank holiday moving back 4 days to coincide with the 75th Anniversary of VE Day (and so to the Friday of our Convention), we have had to change our plans. Therefore, the Convention will be a more condensed affair on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th May 2020. Reducing the traditional two and half days to two days had been planned (in an attempt to make it a little cheaper for all to attend), but the change to the day of the week not. It will be interesting to see if all of us can change to accommodate this. An exciting programme is in the process of being planned with many travelling from abroad to join us. We are planning to hold the AGM on the Tuesday evening as this first evening of the Convention is traditionally the busiest, so the greatest number of people will get the opportunity to attend. Change is not always welcomed and we all know that there are those that do not like change of any kind and even fight against it. But if these changes 5 (whether of our own making or out of our control) work for the majority then they are for the best and should be considered as progress and this progress should be welcomed by all. As I finish writing this President Writes it is with great sadness that I have heard of the passing of Gill Sherlock who many of you will know from the numerous Conventions she attended with Les. Our thoughts go out to Les and the whole family at this difficult time.
Barry Caradine PTA President MEMBERSHIP NEWS ANNETTE SUMMERS Please note this change in the 19/20 Directory: 1378 Mr Roger C Parham (new address) 56 Marshall Avenue BOGNOR REGIS PO21 2TN
Please send all changes of address, telephone and email to The Secretary using the contact details on Page 31.
Les and Gill Sherlock at the PTA Convention in Hereford in 2015
6 SCOTTISH AUTUMN LUNCH, 9 NOVEMBER
For a change this year, we will be combining the Autumn Lunch with a visit to Glasgow Piano City. GPC is situated in Unit X in the central part of Shawlands Arcade, Glasgow G41 3RX next to PureGym. At 11 am Tom Binns who runs the venture will show us round the facility and explain the aim of the project. The Autumn Lunch will be held after the visit at the Italian restaurant ‘Oro’ at 1pm. Oro is on the main road almost directly opposite GPC. Advanced payment is not necessary but we require an idea of numbers interested and please be prepared to pay as part of a group on the day. The arcade is easy to reach by FirstBus buses, numbers 57, 38E or 3 from Renfield St or Union St across from Central station in the city centre or train from Central station to Pollokshaws East station. (Bus gets you nearer!) The restaurant’s menu is on the PTA website but please contact Anne Burton (telephone 01563 551530) to book your place. Glasgow Piano City and Oro have their own websites which are worth looking at.
Glasgow Piano City visit at 11 am.
Autumn Lunch meal at 1 pm.
We supply B2B to self-employed piano and musical instrument technicians, repair workshops and manufacturers of upright and grand pianos, as well as specialized piano and music shops. We also supply historical keyboard manufacturers, workshops and manufacturers of instrument strings. 7 MAY 2019 VISIT TO ROME - ITALY BY MARIO CAMPANALE
On 18th May I met with the AIARP (Associazione Italiana Accorditore e Riparatori Pianoforte) for the celebration of their 50th anniversary of their foundation. It was held at the conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome. It’s an astonishing centre and famous as a launchpad for new conductors and singers. I was impressed that every time I go to AIARP meetings and conventions, they usually have their conventions at Cavalese in the Dolomites. They present all members taking part with a certificate of attendance as shown below. On this occasion, the event was dedicated to Angelo Fabbrini who has been in business for over 50 years as a piano tuner. He gave us a speech on his experience of looking after the pianos of famous concert pianists including Maurizio Pollini, Arturo Michelangeli. He has a workshop and showroom in the town of Pescara. The photo below shows an imprint on the soundboard by Steinway in recognition of Fabbrini’s 200th sale of Steinway grand pianos. Fabbrini also said that he reconstructed Andrea Boccelli’s piano and on completion, put the piano amongst other similar models of grand piano in the showroom. Boccelli went back to Pescara to try the piano and Fabbrini said to him, ‘amongst those pianos is your piano, would you know which one is yours?’. By trying various pianos, Boccelli recognised his own piano saying ‘this is my piano!’ There were comments from Michele Campanella, concert pianist, who said that he relies a lot on the piano tuner to present the piano such that it gives the best
8 performance. There was also a written comment from Paolo Fazioli of the famous Fazioli Pianos, who said the dream of a piano builder is to see his pianos performing in prestigious concert halls. The AIARP president Luciano del Rio expressed his comments in a very poetic way thanking Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the piano, if he ever thought that after 300 years, the piano would still be in great demand and has given the famous composers like Beethoven, Chopin, Lizst, Gershwin and many others the inspiration to create amazing music. May this continue for many years to come!
Discussion: pianos and piano maintenance
AIARP celebration cake in the shape of a piano
9 POLYESTER TRAINING DAY BY PAUL SHEARMAN
Barry and Roberta generously hosted a very enjoyable PTA Training Day at their Suffolk based workshops on Saturday 14 September. The informative day started with a tour of their polyester spraying facilities… we all got a greater understanding a new appreciation for what a difficult and time consuming process this is. It is such a complex process with many potential problems and the way that Barry and Roberta have reached such a high level of polyester finishing is testament to their considerable perseverance and research into polyester products and related industries, such as Jaguar Land Rover, so that they are equipped to spray polyester to the best possible level. Having seen all that is involved, I very much doubt that anyone in the class envied their task or had any aspiration to take on polyester spraying for themselves! However, the next part of the day focused on smaller polyester repairs, which can be carried out very successfully, without a great deal of equipment or expense. For those of us who have done a fair amount of polyester repairs before, it offered the chance to compare methods and products and for newcomers, a chance to tackle repairs for themselves with expert guidance on hand. Polyester piano parts were deliberately damaged to provide a variety of typical situations you may come across and there was plenty of opportunity to carry out these repairs, with some excellent results achieved. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day and we extend our thanks to Barry and Roberta for giving their time and expertise, who also kindly produced a tool kit of buffing soaps and mops that we used during the class.
10 11 JOB OPPORTUNITY IN WALES HEAD PIANO TECHNICIAN WANTED FOR ROYAL WELSH COLLEGE OF MUSIC & DRAMA AND BBC NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF WALES As the National Conservatoire of Wales, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is one of the foremost conservatoires in the world with some 800 students drawn from over 30 countries. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) is one of the BBC’s five professional orchestras and occupies a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and a national orchestra. The BBC NOW has its base in Cardiff, at the BBC Hoddinott Hall on the site of the Wales Millennium Centre. Both organisations sit proudly alongside the other national cultural institutions of Wales, which include Welsh National Opera, National Dance Company Wales, National Theatre Wales, Theatr Genedlaethol, the National Library and National Museum. Both are major providers of artistic output and between them promote over 750 public performances a year. The RWCMD building is a world-class venue in the grounds of Cardiff Castle which is used for training, performance, community engagement and conferences. BBC Hoddinott Hall is a state of the art recording, rehearsal and performance hall, situated in the world famous Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. The Head Piano Technician will manage and oversee the tuning, minor repair and maintenance of the College’s fleet of 62 Steinway lease pianos, 7 College pianos and 2 fortepianos. Liaising with the Head of Keyboard Studies, the post holder will organise all tunings for internal and external College and public events and performances, as well as monitoring any piano moves for external or internal events and overseeing appropriate care and retuning. The Steinway International Recital Series features many of the world’s leading pianists and runs throughout the year, offering the Head Technician the opportunity to work with exceptional artists as well as students and staff. For the BBC, the role will gradually take over from our current piano technician who is retiring in the near future. They will be expected to tune and maintain similarly all of the instruments used by BBC NOW for its Cardiff performances, and as required elsewhere, including Hoddinott Hall and St David’s Hall. Expressions of Interest to be submitted by Monday 31 October 2019 via email to the Music Manager at RWCMD ([email protected]) Full details are available from the Music Manager or a copy of the full pdf can be had from the PTAN Editor or PTA Secretary.
12 13 TUNING THOSE BOTTOM BASS NOTES BY ADRIAN CARPENTER
Tuning the top treble isn’t easy. Customers tend to think it’s the most difficult part of our job. They often say, when you arrive, “The top notes have gone off a bit”, and they plonk a few to prove their point. In fact they’re often just fine, and when you’ve finished they say, “Ah. Much better!” Bottom bass notes are, in my opinion, difficult too, especially in small pianos where the strings are short, fat and highly inharmonic. Often there isn’t a ‘right’ way to tune them, but the aim is to get them sounding consistent when played with the octaves above. Here are some possible methods. 1. Just get the octaves to ‘sound right’ according to your own judgement. This is very subjective and not easy in a small piano where the second harmonic is wildly sharp. It’s a good idea to test them alongside major triads played in the middle range of the instrument. 2. Get the double octaves to sound ‘right’ (e.g. C4 against C28). Again this is somewhat subjective, but in my opinion often produces a better result than No.1 above. 3. Place your finger on the node halfway along the bass string so that the second harmonic is prominent. This works well on a large instrument. However, it will be very sharp in a small piano so it may be tempting to tune the string flat to agree with the octave above. Results can be odd! It’s a bit of a bother removing the bottom door of an upright, often exposing dust, cobwebs and the occasional dead mouse. Also the iron frame sometimes prevents access to the halfway position. NB Putting a finger on a bass string is frowned upon, as sweat can discolour the copper. In an old SSOD this is hardly going to matter, but use the end of a tuning wedge on a posh new grand. 4. Use beats of two octaves-plus-a-third above (e.g. G4 against E32). The exact beat-rate will vary from piano to piano, and in a small instrument it will be quite slow. But the whole point is to get the beat-rate consistent, i.e. slowing very slightly as you descend. 5. A similar system of beat-rates, which works very well on large concert instruments, is to use two-octaves-plus-a-minor-seventh (e.g. C4 against A#38). That’s the famous ‘flat seventh harmonic’, but here it has its uses. Again the exact beat-rate isn’t so important as consistency. I remember being shown this method by a Bösendorfer tuner (was it Barry himself?) for checking the extra bottom notes of the Imperial Grand.
14 6. Use an Electronic Tuning Device! ETDs tend to produce a consistent result, but I’m often less than happy with what mine does to small pianos. And it often doesn’t register the bottom two notes very well. Finally, when you’re tuning a piano for the first time, especially a fairly indifferent old SSOD, it’s worth checking the bottom notes carefully. (Yes, I know it’s tempting to think no-one’s going to notice those tubby old plonkers!) It is not unusual to find that a previous tuner has totally misjudged a string here and there, and tuned it anything between a semitone and a major third wrong.
15 ACCORDION VISIT TO CASTELFIDARDO BY PETER LE GEYT
Our 2019 visit to Castelfidardo took place between 14th and 18th May and consisted of 36 people from the UK, USA & Canada, mostly accordionists with some partners also attending. We travelled from Heathrow to Bologna airport and met up with those who were staying overnight in Bologna and boarded our luxury coach which would be our transport during the week. Our driver Franco did a great job getting us from A to B and ferrying us about the hilltop towns around Castelfidardo. On the way down to the Le Marche region near Ancona we stopped at a vineyard for lunch where the group were able to get to know each other. The group gelled together very quickly, thanks to the love of the accordion! We arrived at our hotel which had recently been transformed into probably the first accordion hotel in the world! There are photographs and various displays throughout the hotel and a half dozen or so good accordions on display for the guests to use. We also had a similar number of accordions already at the hotel for us kindly loaned to our group by Alessandrini, Giustozzi, Beltuna, Zero Sette /Bugari and a Hohner from the local music shop. We had time for a visit to the Accordion Museum which is housed in a temporary location until July as the main museum is being renovated. Dinner followed at the hotel and then the accordions were put to good use by various group members who played in the lounge and bar. The next few days consisted of organised factory visits to Beltuna, RCR (reed blocks), Antonelli Voci Armoniche reed factory, Galassi Bellows and Zero Sette/Bugari Accordions. There were individual and small group visits to Giustozzi, Castagnari and Dino Baffetti Accordions. One of our guests from Canada asked if he could hire a 2 row small button accordion to save bringing his with him. Genuino Baffetti kindly loaned a brand new instrument at no charge so our Canadian guest was over the moon! On the second day we walked into the town to see the ‘Grand Accordion’ as featured in the Guinness Book of Records. Group members certainly found it different to play and managed a tune or two. We also visited the nearby showroom of Victoria Accordions where
16 they still have on display part of the largest private collections of Concertinas and Bandoneons, including one played by the tango maestro Astor Piazzola. Dinner on the second evening was at a very good seaside restaurant we have used before and always good fun with accordion playing afterwards. The following day there were various smaller visits to the bellows and reed factories and a lunchtime visit to Recanati the birthplace of Giacomo Leopardi one of Italy’s most famous poets. It the evening the hotel had arranged for a buffet dinner in the restaurant for hotel guests along with a trio to play. They consisted of a singer/guitarist, drummer and local accordionist Luigino Pallotta who also teaches accordion. He had invited one of his students to play a piece with him. She was very good and just 10 years old! One of our group members was octogenarian Mario an Italian living in the UK and a piano tuner. He was attending an Italian Piano Tuners convention in Rome at the end of our trip but here he demonstrated his singing voice by joining the trio for a couple of Italian tunes. He got a rousing reception! Our final day included a visit to the Zero Sette / Bugari factory where also Petosa and Giulietti accordions are made plus the Bugari Evo digital models. The factory has a decent sized showroom and display so lots of instruments were being tested out and as in the past it can turn into a mass jam session! Those who wanted a quiet corner to play were offered the use of the factories offices. Afterwards for lunch we travelled to nearby Loreto, famous for religious pilgrimages and to visit the Basilica and the Holy House within it. Regardless of peoples religious beliefs the Basilica is architecturally impressive. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Carini accessory shop which has accordion spare parts plus back pads and straps etc. Fismen Accordions was just along the way so we called in for a brief look round. Our final evening was at a 4-star seaside hotel where we had exclusive use of the restaurant with sea views. After dinner I arranged for Castelfidardo’s accordion representative Antonino De Luca to play for us. Antonino has played for us on past trips and is a student of the late and great Frank Marocco. He played a selection of pieces including some from his latest CD and was warmly received – a great player. We departed for Bologna airport the next day travelling via San Marino where we stopped for lunch and some 17 shopping time. The 360 degree views of surrounding Emilia Romagna region are stunning. There was a little on and off light rain however the weather during the trip had been kind to us and it was only on our way to the airport that we experienced some heavy downpours. On the flight home one couple were travelling light as their suitcases got lost at Heathrow on the outward journey. My colleague and wife Sandra back in the UK spent some time on the phone checking and trying to trace them with staff at the Heathrow lost and found baggage hall and eventually they were located. There was not time to send them to Castelfidardo so they had to make do for the rest of their stay. Everyone sympathised with their misfortune however they said it did not detract from the visit which they thoroughly enjoyed. We had a nice mix of people and one thing I have found with the accordion is that it has the ability to push the ‘happy button’. It seems we have some people already asking for details of our next visit! This report was submitted by Mario Campanale, MPTA (Retired) but written by Peter Le Geyt who organised the trip. For any information or advice about the Castelfidardo region email Peter: [email protected]
Giustozzi Briar Root Cassotto accordion Group photo
Playing at hotel restaurant Victoria accordions wall
18 TRAINING DAY UPDATE ANDREW GILLER
Please note a change of date for the next Training Day at Besbrode Pianos, Leeds which will now be held on Sunday 17th November 2019, 10am – 5pm. Booking is available online through the website Events page at https://pianotuner.org.uk/events or please use the enclosed form for postal applications. Specialist dealer Besbrode Pianos, who I am sure will be familiar to many, is one of the largest in the UK and a wholesaler to the trade. Their extensive stock ranges from some of the most unique ‘art case’ pianos ever made, often with an important ownership history attached to them, to the sale of brand new instruments. The company has strong international links and several hundreds of pianos are available at any one time. Their services also include concert piano hire and digital Pianodisc systems. For many years Steinways have been at the forefront of Besbrode’s sales range with renovation work undertaken by an approved Steinway restorer in Germany, such as Piano Maiwald, ensuring customers are provided with only the highest standards of instruments and service. A more local partnership is with the Leeds International Piano Competition which is run every three years. The shop provides assistance for the many performers with rehearsal pianos and outreach recital events which include public performances in the piano showroom. The premises are based in a former Woollen Mill and spread across four floors not too far from the city centre. The German firm of Piano Maiwald was founded in 1983 by the independent Master Piano Maker Friedhorst Maiwald, who opened a shop in Kamen (North Rhine-Westphalia) in 1986 with a Master Piano Workshop for pianos of all brands. The business rapidly expanded leading to the construction of a spacious shop, and further successes lead to the Mailwalds becoming official agents for Steinway & Sons in 2008. The family business was transferred to sons Frank and André in 2013 and since then they have opened a second branch in the foyer of the prestigious Dortmund Concert Hall. For the purpose of our training day André is providing a brand new Steinway action from his workshops to demonstrate the procedure used to install the mechanism in a model B grand piano. Websites: www.besbrodepianos.co.uk www.piano-maiwald.de The PTA is very grateful to the firms for making the Training Day possible and for providing an insight into a very specialist area of work. Early booking advised and up to 30 places are available.
19 BROADWOOD’S FOLLY BY ROY O’NEIL
While the title ‘Broadwood’s Folly’ might conjure up thoughts of the Reg Collen designed pianos with the agraffes tacked on to the bridges, or those little double overstrung grands from the 1930s, it is actually the name of an English sparkling wine I spotted while shopping in a well-known discount supermarket. A quick scan of the label confirmed that there is indeed a connection to the famous piano manufacturer, so I felt compelled to buy a couple of bottles in the interests of further research. The Broadwood family member in question is Thomas Broadwood (1786-1861), who ran the company in partnership with his elder brother James Shudi (1772-1851), after the death of the founder John Broadwood in 1812. He is perhaps best known nowadays for making a gift, in 1817, of one of his company’s finest grand pianos to Beethoven. They met when Thomas visited Vienna that summer, and he seems to have made a good impression on the notoriously touchy composer, since Beethoven’s letter of thanks for the girt was heartfelt and sincere. The ‘Beethoven Broadwood’ was later owned by Franz Liszt, and can still be seen today in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. Thomas Broadwood was a wealthy man, and in 1815 he purchased the country estate at Juniper Hall, near Mickleham in Surrey. He soon began to make improvements to the estate, notably a broad avenue planted on both sides with beech trees, leading from the house to the top of nearby Lodge Hill. On this spot was built a circular flint tower roughly 25 feet high, possibly as a monument to the Battle of Waterloo, but certainly to provide a grand vista back down to Juniper Hall. Broadwood’s Folly thus became a local landmark. Fast forward 200 years, and the tower has become a picturesque ruin with a large holm oak tree growing right through it. Juniper Hall is in the care of the National Trust, and sadly, the beech trees have been blown down in the hurricane of 1987 (the one Michael Fish said was not going to happen). Just across the road from the Folly, at Dorking, Denbies Wine Estate has been established in 1986 and has become by far the largest vineyard in England,
20 with some 265 acres of vine planting and an annual production approaching nearly half a million bottles. Denbies have adopted the pleasant custom of giving their wines the names of local landscape features, so it is only natural that Broadwood’s Folly should be honoured in this way. According to the label, “the wine offers fresh citrus and toasty brioche notes on the nose. The palate is crisp, dry and refreshing with an appealing creamy texture and elegant bubbles”. I’m afraid I can’t help with any of that, but I certainly enjoyed its light fruity taste and sparkling character. I emailed Denbies to confirm that Broadwood’s Folly is still available as it is no longer listed in their online shop, but I didn’t get a reply so cannot confirm that it will be in your local off licence. It might be worth keeping an eye open for it though, as anyone who is partial to a good wine should enjoy a glass or two, along with a nod to the memory of the great man who inspired it.
PTA Member Bruce Hayes writes saying “Further to Paul Corbin's excellent article ‘Why extend the range of the Piano?’, I was privileged to have tuned for Maestro Oscar Peterson on the Bösendorfer with the extra bass notes when he played at the Hexagon Theatre, Reading and was rewarded with his autograph.” 21 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor,
As Past President I am worried that integrity is being lost in the way that decisions are being made by the President and Executive Council. From the August Newsletter ‘President Writes’, I quote: “Rule 19 has been changed and a Quorum shall consist of 3 Council Members (not 5 as stated in the rules).” Also stated in the PW “…I put to Executive Council that we “interpret our rules” (we are allowed to do this)”. I was most astonished by this announcement that Rule 19 had been changed without going through the proper procedure of the AGM. I want to complain in the strongest terms possible that the President should not be making changes to the Rules and imposing his change immediately without taking it as a resolution to the Members at an AGM and having the proposal ratified in the proper way. In the Rules of the Association in the new 2019/20 Directory this process is covered on p.12 under Annual General Meeting and very specifically by Rule 40. Interpretation is covered by Rule 45 on p.13 of the Directory. This states that interpretation is allowable where it is ‘not provided for in the Rules’. I fail to see how ‘A Quorum shall consist of five Council Members’ is not provided for in the Rules and therefore qualifies for interpretation. I think it unwise to lower the Quorum to 3. It means that decisions affecting Members could, in theory, be taken by e.g. a Student and an Apprentice, or one of them and an Associate (these categories all have voting rights on EC now) as only 2 votes would be the majority required to pass decisions. In my view, should fewer than 5 Members turn up for an EC Meeting, proper procedure would be to hold the Meeting anyway. This would be a suitable interpretation, as Rule 19 does not state that the Meeting can’t take place without a Quorum. After the Meeting, any decisions taken at it would be put to those Members not in attendance and would subsequently need to be agreed by them before those decisions can be deemed to be passed by Council. The decision to change rule 19 should therefore be dismissed at the next EC Meeting as it was taken ‘unlawfully’ in the first place. Further, I noticed in the July Minutes and EC Report that a test run of a Skype Meeting was to be held, although no date for this test was given. I was therefore very surprised that the actual September EC Meeting was held by Skype with no notification to the Membership of the date, no provision made for EC Members who don’t have Skype access or observers. Surely a test run should just be a trial of Skype technology to see if the technology would work for future Meetings? Every member of the EC should have been involved in
22 the trial. A clear statement should have been made beforehand of what the trail’s objectives were, together with the pass/fail criteria to enable the success or otherwise of the trial to be evaluated. This would have included arrangements to cater for observers and those who don’t have access to Skype. Then the full EC Meeting should have been held as planned in Lewisham, at which a decision to hold future Meetings as Skype ones could have been taken. While I don’t object to progress by using available technology to reduce the costs to the Association, adopting Skype Meetings in a well-organised and structured manner could be very positive and encourage more people to take part in running the PTA, making the short-term solution of reducing the Quorum for EC Meetings unnecessary. However, I strongly object to the way in which this decision to move to Skype Meetings has been handled. It is wrong that the Membership had not been notified in advance as effectively the September EC Meeting was held in secret. I hope that in future the President and the EC consider carefully how they conduct their business, respect the Rules of the Association and be more open in their decision making process. Yours sincerely, Anne Burton (1220)
23 WHY EXTEND THE RANGE OF THE PIANO? BY PAUL CORBIN What purpose? What interest? What criticism? Here is the question that interests us most: is it necessary to add twenty notes to the current piano? What is the use of such a thing? Here is a little experiment: Take two small brightly-coloured objects and put them on the first and last note of a standard keyboard. Now look at the centre of the keyboard (between the E and the F under the brand name). Normally, you can see the two objects in your field of vision without having to look sideways. Now take these two objects and place them against the side arms, outside but still visible. That distance corresponds approximately to a 108-key keyboard. Look at the centre of the piano again. Now the objects get out of your field of vision. With a 108-key keyboard, you cannot see the last notes. You have a horizon of keys in front of you. That is the main criticism from pianists to extended keyboards. It is true that additional keys are disturbing; it would be a lie to tell the contrary. Nonetheless, I do not think this is a problem at all, quite the opposite. Playing the piano is a hard job, I admit it. Adding twenty notes means adding difficulty. These notes need a time of adaptation, but it is worth the effort. In order to compensate for that difficulty, Pape, Bösendorfer and Petrof had added removable systems that hide the extra notes. That is an idea which I find preposterous, especially from Pape who used to build his pianos at a time when the keyboard’s range was constantly evolving. Even worse, Bösendorfer has been putting a black cover on the extra keys. It is as if the manufacturer was apologising, as if every key was saying: ‘forgive me for being here, please don’t play me’. When Beethoven was offered a six-octave Broadwood in 1817, on the one hand this wasn’t enough for him, on the other hand the additional keys were not painted in black. Imagine what Liszt must have put up with during his tours. The variety of pianos was ten times larger than today, perhaps. Liszt would switch from a Viennese piano to a concert Érard, a Boisselot parlour grand, Pleyel pianinos in Parisian boudoirs… It was certainly more difficult to perform a recital in the 19th century than today. All pianists from that time had to adapt, as today’s organists, harpsichordists, forte-piano players or percussionists still have to adapt. I also think that it is vital to increase the ambitus on both sides. This allows to always keep the same symmetry (between the 44th and the 45th note on a standard piano). If you put all the extra notes in the bass, you end up with an unbalanced piano, as it is the case with the Bösendorfer. Above all, a keyboard
24 of 108 keys allows to expand the musical possibilities for improvisers and composers by pushing out of the field of vision the black blinkers of the key blocks and side arms. Among the fears that can be heard, some people claim that the arms are too short for such a large range. I shall answer this by saying that a 1m 60-tall person can perfectly play at the same time the first and the last note of a 115-key keyboard. Anyway, nobody forces the pianist to play the first and the last note of the keyboard at the same time. Generally, nobody even forces pianists to play these notes. Do you really think that a composer could be vicious enough to write at both ends of a 108-note piano? There are many musical instruments whose price is notably proportional to their ambitus. This is the case, for instance, of percussion instruments (glockenspiel, marimba, celesta...), harps, or accordions, whose price is determined, among other things, by their tonal range, their registers, the number of ranks or the number of bass notes. Some wind instruments have an extra key, piston valve or barrel in accordance with their price, in order to extend their range in the bass register. It was also the case for some piano manufactures in the 19th and 20th centuries. On the Érard catalogue of 1932, we can see a model 4 upright piano (1m 27) with seven octaves, a model 0 baby grand (1m 80) with 7¼ octaves, and a concert model No. 3 (2m 60) with seven ½ octaves; same for Ibach. A few years earlier, Pleyel used to follow the same principle with pianinos. Until recently, some brands still offered 85 notes on small pianos. Bösendorfer offers three types of keyboards: 88, 92 and 97 according to the model and the price. Maybe the piano should follow this path today? For the same brand, the bigger the instrument would be, the more notes it would have. Is it normal to have to same tonal range on a baby grand as on a concert model? Should not the price take into account the extension of the ambitus, as it is the case in many musical instruments? To me, pianos’ keyboards should extend towards 108 keys as their size and price increase. A composer’s opinion In order to complete this article, I found it interesting to seek the point of view of a most concerned person. Artur Cimirro is a Brazilian composer, art critic and pianist. He was the first composer in the world who ever composed works for 108-note pianos. For which purpose do you use additional notes? First of all, I use them because I precisely don’t consider them as additional. When they sit before the 102 keys of a Stuart & Sons, the first thing that pianists do is to press the first and the last key of the keyboard. It seems as if they tried to solve a problem that they don’t understand. Why? Because they are not composers. The debate on these “additional” notes only concerns composers (and technicians of course), not pianists. 25 Were you inspired by the 102 keys of Stuart & Sons or did you use to compose your pieces before knowing those pianos? My first compositions were written in 1998, and they only require 88 notes. In 2002, I made a transcription of the famous Flight of the Bumblebee by Korsakov. Because of different techniques I used for that piece (octavated notes, for instance), it was logical to reach the last E*. Later, I changed all the octaves into thirds to make that transcription playable on a standard 88-key piano. Finally, I put the top E again in the latest edition.
*
Then, in 2006, I started my Sonata Opus 3 that requires the contra C and the top E-flat of the keyboard**, and it is only in 2011 that I heard about the Stuart & Sons pianos for the first time. Three months after the director’s invitation, I went to the manufacturer to visit it. Just before my leaving, I had composed two pieces requiring 102 keys. In 2012, I visited the factory a second time and it was at this moment that I heard about the new type of string (XM) which allowed to build pianos that wouldn’t have 102 keys, but 108. I immediately made changes in my scores and after a few days’ work, the first piece for 108-key piano: Eccentric Prelude No. 1, Opus 20. Since that day, some of my other compositions use the whole ambitus and I plan on writing more.
**
Are you convinced of their interest and necessity? Absolutely, I hate the sensation of composing for a “half-instrument”, and this is what I feel when I think of 88 notes only. With 108 notes, you have the piano in its practical standards, so this is the standard of the future. Of course, I can compose a piece requiring only 88 keys, I have already done so in some of my compositions, but I prefer to compose a new piece without a minimum nor a maximum of notes in mind. At the same time, I do not believe that we need more than 108 notes for composing since this is the practical limit of the piano. Thus, I think that everything is in its right place. Cristofori’s first forte-piano only had 49 keys (four octaves), and the ambitus gradually increased because it was still very far from its limits. In 1844, when Boisselot & Fils made the first sostenuto pedal, the idea was not welcome, and it was only thirty years later that it was used in Steinway pianos. Today, some people still find it difficult to understand
26 how to use it correctly. When Beethoven was unhappy with the limits of the pianos of his time, he still wrote his scores with the notes that were missing, and new pianos were built in accordance with this. Today, it is the same but with different pianos and composers. Other composers such as Liszt, Herz, Pixis, Brahms, Busoni, Ravel, Scriabin... struggled to explore the limits of the piano, and today we have the opportunity to discover the true limits of this instrument in its most complete ambitus. This is a wonderful thing! All those who disagree do not know it yet, but they are doomed to fail, and soon they will be six feet under. Conclusion When I happen, despite myself, to come across some “music” in a supermarket, in a public place, in a taxi, at the hairdresser’s, etc., I often think that a three-note piano would be more than enough. What’s the use? Here is certainly what many readers will wonder when they read this article. I have also wondered the same thing and this is legitimate. However, today I can answer that, on the contrary, it is necessary, more than ever, to give this instrument a new boost. Since it was created, the piano has always evolved together with its ambitus and I am still convinced that its evolution can continue only if the ambitus extends, too. Maybe one day, pianists will admit that 88-note pianos are restrained and limited instruments... This article does not claim to establish a new standard, it would be utopian to think so. How could the piano have 108 notes tomorrow when the vast majority of piano makers have not even gone through the stages of 102, 97, 92 or even 90? Its aim is to inform pianists, technicians, composers and all persons in relation with the piano that it is possible to extend its tonal range and that it is necessary to do so. By writing these lines, I can simply claim to have said so. Still, I hope and I firmly believe that a new 97-note standard (contra F to top F), as understood by Pape, is wholly conceivable in the future. Unfortunately, today, the piano follows a logic of standardisation. For an idea to spread, it has to be standardised. The advantages of those 97 notes are that they can be placed on any model of piano, from the upright ones (starting from 1m 20) to the concert grands, that they do not complicate the building very much and that they allow to extend the keyboard in an intelligent and reasonable manner. I sincerely hope that I will be able to see that standard developed during my professional career. All conditions are now gathered to build pianos with a larger tonal range. Here is some interesting musical progress that will leave no pianist or composer indifferent. All this is relatively new, I admit it. The technical means
27 to get there are very recent and this article comes just after. It is important that all this information get clearer in people’s minds. Don’t we have the opportunity to blow the dust off the situation in which this instrument has been stuck for far too long? Just like you, I am a technician, I do the same job as yours and my main professional motivation is for the profession and for the piano world in general to be going well. I am not interested in megalomania, overgrowth or exploit for the sake of exploit. I have struggled to write this article in the most sincere way, with the sole purpose to serve my profession and music.
Paul Corbin
(1) Le piano de style en Europe: des origines à 1850, Pascale Vandervellen, Mardaga. (2) Henri Herz, magnat du piano, Laure Schnapper, Ehess. (3) Érard Archives, manufacturing registers, Cité de la musique, Paris. (4) Gustave Chouquet, Exposition universelle internationale de 1878 à Paris. Groupe II. – Classe 13. Rapport sur les instruments de musique et les éditions musicales par M. Gustave Chouquet, Conservateur du Musée du Conservatoire National de Musique, Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1880, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Tolbiac, 8-V- 4336. (5) Liszt et le son Érard, « À la recherche des sonorités perdues », Nicolas Dufetel, Villa Medici Giulini. (6) http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer. (7) Ministère du Commerce, de l’industrie, des postes et des télégraphes. Exposition universelle internationale de 1900, à Paris. Rapports du jury international. Classe 17 : Instruments de musique. Rapport de M. Eugène de Bricqueville. (8) Extra bass notes, Stuart & Sons piano model 220. (9) Extrêmes-aigus, Stuart & Sons piano model 220.
Thanks to Wayne Stuart, Katie Stuart, Allan Moyes, Stephen Paulello, Jean-Claude Battault, Jérôme Wiss, Hervé Lançon, Lucile Delpon, Artur Cimirro and Ernestine Klesch for their help, their precious advice and their unfailing support.
28 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Ed,
I am in total agreement with you regarding the importance of the PTA Council Report being included in PTA News. In my opinion, the Council Report is the single most important PTA related item in PTA News; relaying to the membership what decisions are being made on its behalf. Twenty five members (over 13% of the membership) do not supply an email address. I would conclude that those members may well not have Internet access and therefore seeking Internet access in order to read the PTA Council Report is likely to be rather a palaver. Even more crucially, I record PTA News for our blind members, who do not have the choice of looking at the PTA Website. Therefore, if the PTA Council Report is omitted from PTA News, those members will no longer have any idea what their elected Council is deciding on their behalf. I am even more concerned (having been a Council Member and Trustee for almost twenty years) by the number of decisions that are being made without being discussed or voted on by Council. I gather all Convention and Training Day forms are now only available via the PTA website. I have no recollection of this major departure being discussed or voted on, but rather being presented to Council as a fait accompli. I am perplexed by the disenfranchisement of over 13% of our membership and I can only conclude that efficiency is being confused with effectiveness.
Yours sincerely,
Tania Staite (1119)
29 PTA COUNCIL REPORT ANNETTE SUMMERS
The Meeting of the Executive Council was held via Skype on Tuesday 24th September at 19.30 pm. Present were Barry Caradine (President), Annette Summers (Secretary/Treasurer), Shaun McLoughlin (Trustee), Steve Droy and Roberta Caradine (Members). Apologies for absence from Andrew Giller (Vice President), Tania Staite (Trustee), and Lewis Flisher. Minutes of the July Meeting were approved and carried. The Treasurer’s report was circulated, approved and carried. Email from Anne Burton requesting that the Executive Council Meeting Report remain in the PTA News. Dates are being organized for PTA Membership Tests. One Apprentice application followed the Training Day at the Caradine’s workshop. There are 3 new Student applications. More Training Days are being planned. Roy O’Neil has organised a visit to Glasgow Piano City to coincide with the Scottish Autumn Lunch on 9 November. Factory visits abroad are being planned in conjunction with piano shops and manufacturers. Details when finalised to be circulated to Members who expressed their interest. Brian Frost will attend the EuroPiano Meeting in Segovia on the PTA’s behalf in November. 9 PTA Members have offered to be Mentors for Apprentices and anyone wishing to take the PTA Membership Test. There are still a few glitches with the database and application process to be sorted out on the new website. The conclusion of those at this Meeting was that holding EC Meetings via Skype had worked. Due to the time and expense saved, the next Meeting will also be held via Skype. The next Meeting is arranged via Skype for Saturday 30th November at 10.30am. Meeting closed at 20.15pm.
Observers are welcome at all Council Meetings. To join Skype Council Meetings as an Observer, please contact the Secretary. A copy of the Minutes is available from the Secretary. Minutes are also available in the Members area of the PTA website.
30 PTA DIARY OF EVENTS Visit to Glasgow Piano City 11am Saturday 9th November, Shawlands Arcade, Glasgow G41 3RX PTA Scottish Autumn Lunch 1pm Saturday 9th November at Oro, Shawlands, Glasgow G41 3YR PTA Training Day, Re-building Masterclass 10am-5pm on Sunday 17th November 2019 at Besbrode Pianos, Leeds Skype Executive Council Meeting 10.30am on Saturday 30th November Convention with A.G.M. 5th and 6th May 2020 The Sharnbrook Hotel, Park Lane, Sharnbrook, Bedford MK44 1LX For enquiries, PTA goods, changes of address or contact details: Mrs Annette Summers, PTA Secretary PO Box 230 HAILSHAM BN27 9EA Tel: 0845 602 8796 Email: [email protected]
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