The
primary concerns in concert voicing are evenness (funny how often that word
comes up in piano work, isn’t it?) and colour flexibility. By evenness, of
course, I mean that notes should not stand out from their neighbours by being either
too powerful and brilliant or too soft and mellow. By colour flexibility, I
mean that the tone should be able to change to meet the artist’s needs. For
instance, a note should sound mellow or “pearly” when played pianissimo, but should
sound brighter and have more “bite” when played at louder levels. The best way
to achieve these results in voicing is to start out with good quality hammers and
a solid regulation, then follow the tried-and-true methods laid out in Franz
Rudolf Dietz’s “Grand Voicing “(1). Short-cut voicing methods may make a quick
and obvious difference in a piano’s sound, and may be fine for some home
pianos, but I prefer the slower and more controllable traditional voicing techniques,
especially when dealing with fine concert instruments.
Because
pianists do not all have the same preference as to piano tone, no one piano and
no one voicing are going to keep everyone totally happy. I recall attending a
piano recital where a faculty friend approached me at intermission and said, “Steve,
I think your piano is too bright.” Another friend, overhearing, said, “I think
it sounds gorgeous. It’s perfect!” A few minutes later, I ran into a technician
friend who thought the piano sounded nice, ‘but it could stand to be a bit
brighter.” Three different people, three different opinions. That incident
taught me not to take any one person’s opinion too seriously. Naturally, the
best approach to voicing pianos that are used by a wide variety of performers
is to keep the hammers in good shape (some technicians file the hammers after
every performance!) and keep the sound as even as possible. I try to make the
overall tone quality match my conception of what a piano should sound like,
always remembering that it’s generally better to err in the direction of “too
brilliant” rather than “too dull” where a concert piano is concerned. If a
particular artist requests changes in a piano’s voicing, I will usually attempt
to meet that request, but now we’re entering the realm of “working with people.”
The
Artist
Whenever
possible, I like to meet with the pianist during the piano selection process.
If the artist has chosen the piano prior to coming to the hall (some choose a
piano solely by brand name), or if there is no choice available, I try to meet
the artist at the beginning of rehearsal time, when the pianist is first trying
the instrument. I introduce myself, ask the performer if there are any problems
with the piano, and after any necessary discussion, I leave.
Where
voicing is requested, I prefer to have the pianist present while I voice the
piano. This approach helps eliminate misunderstandings, especially when I can
get the pianist to participate with me in the process by trying the piano after
each stint of needling or filing. If for some reason the pianist can’t be on
hand for this type of work or to try the piano after the voicing is done, I’ve
found he or she is usually reluctant to have any work done besides tuning. That’s
for a good reason: they would rather know exactly what to expect when they sit down
to play at concert time. (2)
Other
People
Besides
the artist, we often deal with promoters, stage managers and stage hands. The
rule with all these people is...
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