Whilst I think that digitally operated all-electric player pianos
are extremely clever and can undoubtedly sometimes produce wonderful
performances, their playing just does not have that "tingle factor"
for me, and so I would never wish to own one.

Perhaps it is because I spend so much of my working life dealing
with computers that there seems to be little magic for me in anything
associated with them. I think the youth of today will probably feel
the same, as they are so accustomed to computer-based entertainment,
and to its rapid obsolescence and replacement with yet another novelty.

Today's costly computer-disk operated piano will probably seem about as
exciting as a 1980's domestic video player in 15 years, and may well be
prohibitively expensive to repair when the parts are no longer
available.

A reproducing piano from the early 20th century does not have the
deliberately built-in obsolescence which pervades virtually everything
produced commercially nowadays (beyond having to replace perishable
leather, rubber and rubberised cloth every 50 years or so).  Who knows
how long modern-day plastics will last?

A paper-roll operated mechanism, on the other hand, is comparatively
easy to repair, will last much longer, and exerts a fascination both
musical and technical (even for children, in my experience) way beyond
that generated by a computer.

My first experience with a Yamaha Disklavier was when they were first
introduced in the late 1980s when, after graduating from The Royal
College of Music in London, one of my first "real" jobs was as pianist
in the perfume hall of Harrods department store in London.  My brief
was to perform operatic arias for piano solo, on a new Disklavier which
had been sent down from the piano department.

I was shown how to record my own playing, and I was asked to turn
the piano on to playback during my breaks so that it repeated my own
performances.  I must say that the pianos playback was dreadful, really
crude and unconvincing, with many missed notes and many which were too
loud (or was I just overestimating my own talents?).

But, to my great chagrin, the same thing happened every break time:
I would return to find a great crowd of people thronging around the
piano, fascinated that it was playing automatically, and, as I eased my
way through the throng to turn off the piano and resume my position at
the keyboard, there were audible groans and disgruntled noises from the
customers as they turned away and left in disappointment.  They were
blissfully unaware that the recorded performance and live performance
were technically the same, and certainly appreciated the novelty of the
Disklavier, with all its faults.

I don't think that a similar instrument playing in the same place
now would generate any interest at all; people would just accept it
as a matter of course.  I would like to think, however, that a grand
reproducing piano, with a visible music roll, would be a novelty
nowadays; after all, most people have never seen one.

Rowland Lee
Lincolnshire, UK
http://www.rowlandlee.com/