No matter what is out there, everyone will have a different opinion on its worth. I have no problems about this, but it does worry me when any view is expressed without a reasonable amount of knowledge, analysis and logic. Not that I succeed in this all the time, of course, but I think I succeed many more times than I fail in this regard.
Take this example from the Pianoworld fora:
“Also, I disliked the extra keys. It became a distraction when doing large jumps. Most of us are used to calculating our hand position based on position of the edge of the keyboard. It was weird hitting octaves that are usually at the bottom of the keyboard.”
So what this pianist is saying is that he is unable to adjust to the extra keys, so they shouldn’t be there. Never mind the sound, or the extra capabilities those keys allow. The fact that he cannot adjust is surely his problem, and not the fault of the piano. It implies that pianos will always have 88 keys until the end of time because we’re too stuck in our ways to change. It’s like saying I don’t like a five speed gearbox on a car because I’m used to a four speed gearbox and therefore the fifth gear is useless because it confuses me.
This attitude is symptomatic of what I might call the ‘status quo’ syndrome which seems to permeate piano performance and basically stultifies any development of the piano, either artistic or technical. The point of the Stuart piano is that it is different, and therefore all of the old pianistic paradigms, both technical and artistic, have to be thrown out of the window. If you have to change the way you play, so be it. The Stuart piano absolutely demands that you do. If you can’t, that is your failure to do so, not the failure of the piano.
The fact that extra keys are so worrisome to the majority is symptomatic of this syndrome. Bosendorfers have their extra bass keys in different colours so that pianists can avoid them like the plague. They may as well not be there because the psychology of the piano is telling the pianist ‘don’t touch me – I’m unclean’. The psychology of the Stuart is clear – either accept what I am and tackle my challenges head on or else go back into your little Steinwegian square and vegetate.
Stuart pianos make unprecedented demands on the pianist. They are asked to forget the status quo and let their skills and imagination loose on a totally new way of playing piano music - not just new music but the entire piano repertoire. The quotee exampled above obviously didn’t understand what he was playing and consequently was chained to an outdated and antiquated paradigm, and proceeded to complain because he couldn’t adjust.
The pianist is the problem, not the piano.