… basically because I didn’t have anything new and on value to add to what I have already written in this blog. Now I have a bit, and so here I am again.
I spent a week in the Philippines recently with my family, and spent some time island hopping in Coron, which was a really relaxing and pleasant experience. I also had to opportunity to visit a friend of my uncle’s, who lived in a 130 year old Spanish hacienda in Batangas City, about two hours drive south of Manila.
This friend was a piano aficionado, and had just bought a 2.2 metre Bosendorfer grand piano less than a year previously. Of course I was pressed into playing, and did a reasonable job given that I wasn’t prepared for it and my memory is lousy anyway as I’ve noted before. Of course, it was a very good piano but I found it difficult physically to play, and I soon found out why that was. The piano needed voicing, and tuning as well if I could be picky. The action was a bit uneven and I found I couldn’t get the control I knew that the piano was capable of. Naturally, I impressed upon the owner the need for such regulatory work, and I would imagine that by the time I get back there again (and I promised I would try to get back there next year) the piano will be in much better shape.
However, when I went downstairs, I noticed another grand piano which was covered up. In fact, my uncle’s friend had five grand pianos, the other three were Yamahas. I had a sneak look at this piano, and was surprised to find that it was a Steinway Model M. The serial number indicated it was made in 1936.
Once again, it needed work on it in terms of voicing and tuning, but playing it was a much more pleasurable experience than playing the Bosendorfer – the piano seemed to my fingers to be much more manipulatable, if readers can understand what I mean. I impressed on my host the importance of this piano and he agreed to have it worked on – it was in a good enough condition that it didn’t need restoring in any significant way. What I also suggested was that he transport the Steinway upstairs and place it next to the Bosendorfer. The resut could be some very interesting one and two piano recitals.
The morals of the story are plural. Firstly, especially in the Philippines with the extremes of heat and humidity (this room was air-conditioned, but even so) it is really necessary to look after top quality pianos. The Bosendorfer did suffer as a result. But, then again, I would rate the Steinway as a better instrument. It is perhaps significant that this was a pre-WW2 Steinway, and certainly anecdotally I’ve heard that modern Steinways don’t match the older ones in terms of quality. I will look forward to playing it once I get back there.
Now some of you may think I’m being a traitor to the cause – after all I have said that I find it difficult to play other pianos than a Stuart because I’m used to the sound and feel now, and that does remain the case. But a good piano is still a good piano, and whilst I still prefer the Stuart over all the pianos I have played, but doesn’t stop me from ‘reverting’ every now and again and showing that I can adjust as the occasion demands. Obviously I cannot play much of the music I play on the Stuart on the Bosendorfer or Steinway – it just doesn’t suit. But playing these pianos, good as they are, really does confirm for me how good the Stuart is.