Double Pianos
By Gordon Rumson, forwarded by Terry Smythe
Forwarded Message:
From: rumsong@cadvision.com To: ALL Orig: MBNET
Subj: Re: double-piano? Area: 0-sic.makers.piano Date: 01/05/96
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bc@bitstream.net (Bill Carrothers) wrote:
>
> I've always been curious if anyone has ever made or heard of two
> pianos being put one on top of the other with the keys offset so that
> both keyboards could be played at once, like an organ. Would be very
> interesting to, say, tune the two pianos a quarter-tone apart and then
> learn how to play it. Anyone ever heard of that being tried?
>
> Bill Carrothers
> "Ninety percent of this game is half mental."
> -Yogi Berra-
There have been numerous attempts to put multiple keyboards on pianos. Liszt had a three keyboard piano, with pedals built which has survived and now exists in a state of disrepair(?) in Vienna. Liszt also had a piano and harmonium combined (instrument now in Budapest).
I found an ad for a concert in the 1880s or so, of a double piano with the range reversed --one keyboard went higher in pitch to the right, and the other went down in pitch the the right. I presume it was a failure!
However, the Hungarian composer and pianist Emanuel Moor, perfected a double keyboard piano with octave coupler mechanism. One keyboard is offset by an octave, and, in later versions, the lower keyboard slopes upward, hence it is possible to play chromatic glissandi.
There is only one set of strings and you can couple the keyboards so that playing one key will produce and octave sound. The coupler is engaged by a pedal.
About 150(?) pianos were built by various companies.
There is an article in praise of this instrument by Donald Francis Tovey, a biography of Moor by Max Pirani and a detailed book on the mechanism and history of the instrument by Herbert(?) Shead. Groves has the bibliography under Moor and in the instrument dictionary. Check there for details.
Not many pianists have taken it up, but three stellar musicians did or have.
First, Gunnar Johansen (1906-1991) recorded the complete works of Bach using a Moor double keyboard piano. Johansen actually had two of these instruments, including a 9 foot concert grand version. Johansen also recorded some Bach-Busoni transcriptions using this piano. Johansen's performance of the St. Anne's Prelude and Fugue is titanic. Johansen's recordings are still available from Artist Direct, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin 53517. (Careful, though, these are not CDs and the Bach series was recorded in the 1950s -- medium-fi and not modern performance style.)
Second, is Gyorgy Sandor, great Hunngarian pianist and student of Bartok now on faculty at Julliard, who actually gave his New York debut on this instrument. He is a strong proponent of the instrument for ALL music, including Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin! Sandor insists that the possibilities of tone color ar greatly enhanced by the double keyboard and octave coupler system. I once asked him if he wanted to write an article about this and he said "It needs a BOOK!"
Third, is Larry Sitsky who has composed a Fantasy for double keyboard (he has one at the University he teaches at) which has been recorded and was reviewed very well by Steve Ellis in a recent issue of Fanfare. It's a powerful composition that reminded Ellis of Nancarrow.
Hope this is of interest and feel free to email me if I can help any further.
Gordon Rumson |
(Message sent Sun 7 Jan 1996, 04:52:30 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.) |
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