The following is a synopsis of an article that appeared in my local
newspaper.  Have any of our MMD subscribers seen or heard one of these
pianos?

"Two-Lid Piano Gets Concert Hall Snub"
Copyright 1997 N.Y. Times
Printed in The Manhattan Mercury, Manhattan, KS, December 9, 1997

NEW YORK - The image of a gleaming grand piano with its lid propped
open is fixed in the mind of every classical music lover.  But for the
first time in a century and a half, the basic design of the piano is
being challenged by a controversial and transforming invention: the
lower lid.

Daniel Revenaugh, a 63-year old pianist, conductor, and inventor
from Berkeley, CA is the innovator of the lower lid.  "The lower lid
designed by Revenaugh is attached to the rear underside of the piano
and rests on the floor.  Visually, it mirrors the traditional upper lid
and serves the same purpose: to capture and project sound outward."

Leading pianists, such as Andre Watts, Peter Serkin and Martha Argerich
have performed at major concert halls using a piano with a lower lid.
Watts called it a "wonderful advance and improvement of the piano
sound."  When Serkin first heard Revenaugh demonstrate the piano with
the lower lid, he noticed a remarkable difference.

Although these artists wanted to use the piano with the lower lid [for
their performances], administrators at New York's Carnegie Hall have
refused to allow it.

"The piano has developed over time; maybe it's time for the piano to
develop again," observed Judith Arron, the executive and artistic
director of Carnegie Hall.  But she added, "I am not going to let a new
invention come into this hall for one of our presentations before it
has been properly tested."  The hall artistic administrator, Kristin
Kuhr, agrees.

"Whatever the certifiable merits of the lower lid, Carnegie Hall's
policy raises a much larger question of who determines whether an
adaptation to an artist's instruments represents an improvement: the
artist or a concert hall administrator?"

(End of article)

Joyce Brite
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~brite/

 [ Carnegie Hall appears overly conservative and cautious, and
 [ this doesn't seem the proper attitude for an institution of it's
 [ stature.  Remember the Benny Goodman concert in the late 30s,
 [ which was the first time a band with both black and white
 [ musicians performed at the hall?  _That_ was daring -- and the
 [ audience loved it!  Surely the Hall could display a new piano!
 [ -- Robbie