The effect of unequal temperament on Chopin

[David Pinnegar]

Hi!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcuvDE_MR0g is the second ballade by Chopin played by a masterclass student of Adolfo Barabino, Miena Sanada in a series of concerts at Emerson College in Sussex in Unequal Temperament.

What's the verdict?

Here's the third . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cawoTqbi_iI

Best wishes

David P

[NonPlayingAnorak]

The second ballade is quite nice in the quieter bits, but the piano is far too clattery and clangy in the loud bits, and even in the quieter bits it sometimes just sounds out of tune. It really needs a Bösendorfer, tuned to equal temperament... I know you like unequal temperament, and it has its place, but there is some repertoire for which it just doesn't work. This is an example of that.

[David Pinnegar]

Hi!

The instrument had suffered change of temperature, change of humidity and moving - so Miena re-recorded on a rock steady instrument:

Try the re-recordings on
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chopin+ballade+unequal+temperament
and the scherzi:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chopin+scherzo+unequal+temperament

Best wishes

David P

[David Pinnegar]

Hi!

Here are Chopin's 24 Preludes in all the keys in Unequal Temperament recorded with Michele D'Ambrosio last weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdsFLIo9l88
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A34K-fj5nHs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqrynlohR4

These should take pride of place next to Bach's 48.

The key pattern starts with C then the associated minor A then on the circle of fifths G and then related E minor etc and the Schubart commentary on Key Characteristics could well serve as the programme notes.

Commentators have missed the point of these preludes in their illustration of key colour, concentrating only on form and rhythmic content.

Interestingly the Miena Sanada recordings on this instrument differ on account of a different tuning using a different set of string harmonics and make the instrument sound more like a fortepiano. This tuning took more account of standard inharmonicity measurements.

Best wishes

David P