jazz styles) the sound of the piano is less critical because the player can respond to that sound and make it work. If there is an element of improvising within the musical genre (e.g. It’s interesting that because it’s feasible for guitarists to own a range of quality instruments they tend not to argue with other about which is the ‘best’ brand. The same applies to Guitars, whereas a flute tends to be – a flute. Sometimes changing the piano sound can make the difference between the piece working or not. But having worked with lots of various sampled pianos you become very aware to extent that they combine differently with other instruments. In the real world piano music (or piano parts) tend to be played on the instrument that’s available. The point, however, is that these ‘attributes’ are ‘good’ or bad depending on the musical context. I can’t think of the words to describe the distinctive sound of Bosendorfers – Bell-like, possibly - with a tendency to sound clangy in the wrong acoustic. Bechsteins sound elegant, refined and cultured but the smaller models tend towards a pinched thinness at louder dynamics. Jeffrey: I would say that Steinways sound muscular and sophisticated but can turn aggressive. But for me the Fazioli has a freshness and openness, which makes it much easier to avoid the ‘millstone of history’. Perhaps it’s not unreasonable that a new piano with a new sound might not be always first choice for a repertoire written to exploit the sound of a very different kind of piano. However, in an unsympathetic acoustic this might sound merely glassy. At the other dynamic extreme the sound has a unique crystalline edge like icy water – stunningly effective with rich ‘added-note’ chords. In a musical context this sound has something in common with the lontano effect very soft clarinets and horns can produce. The sound of this piano at the softest dynamics is very ‘white’ these notes just float up into air and hang around in the most ravishing way. I then dampened down the room with a few acoustic tiles and found that the piano sounded perfect. However I was surprised to find that a close mic recording had nothing of that stridency. When the piano was first delivered I was convinced that the top couple of octaves would have to be voiced down a bit – it seemed to shout out a bit. Perhaps, if my main concern was playing romantic music I might have chosen a Steinway - if only because it delivers a sound that is inescapably tied to that area of the repertoire. As a composer I felt the Fazioli offers a sound that has yet to be exploited. I’ve just bought the entry-level Fazioli 156.
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