@inthehands @KayJanes I have a hybrid piano, it has the same keyboard mechanism as an acoustic, your fingers can’t tell the difference, it sounds great, and it never needs tuning and doesn’t bother the neighbours.
I’ve played a wide variety of these instruments that combine some version of a piano action with an alternative method of sound production, ranging from new and fancy electronic keyboards to old and esoteric experimental electroacoustic instruments. I’ll stick with what I said: many alternatives, no substitutes.
None of them respond the way an acoustic piano does. Note one. Many of them, however, make differently worthwhile music in their own right!
@inthehands @KayJanes I’ve played a lot of pianos, too. A few years ago I replaced my lovely Langlau-made Hoffmann with a Kawai hybrid. I’ve played Chopin, Mendelssohn, Hensel, Brahms, and Bach on both, and I’m happier with the Kawai. Would I like to have a Steinway grand with its own soundproof practice room and a budget for a piano tuner? Of course I would. But can I get all the same nuances on the Kawai? Also yes.
Yes, I find that Kawais frequently punch above their weight. For whatever reason, they have a lot of music in them!
It does depend a lot on the music. Bach designed his music to work on a wide variety of keyboards, and so it’s no surprise it can work wonderfully on the the electronic ones; they often bring out something new if you let them be themselves instead of treating them as an imitation acoustic! But I’ve never managed to get a Chopin sound I like out of even the highest-end electronic keyboard.
P.S. What I said about “alternative not substitues” goes both ways, of course: an acoustic is a •terrible• imitation electric! Beyond the practical considerations of space, ease of moving, and silent practice, there are worlds of sounds in synths.
@inthehands I think every instrument has its own character and its strengths and weaknesses. For example, some pianos, whether acoustic or electronic, can tend to sound muddy, and might need to be played with a lighter touch on the pedal. Unless you have an unlimited budget, you adapt, and as you said, you also discover possibilities thanks to the instrument. Chopin composed his Preludes on a little upright piano. :) And even his favourite pianos sounded very different from modern instruments. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PoSlDhoTJ4
@KayJanes
@benjamingeer @inthehands @KayJanes Yes! Justin Taylor has a newish recording of Chopin on a Pleyel piano that I really like. It fits the music and expresses it in a different way from a “normal” piano — hard to describe, but easy to hear.
Wonderful video! I’ll have to check out the Justin Taylor.
Period instruments can be so full of treasures. For example, I particularly like this recording of Brahms chamber music played on a piano like the one he owned at the time, which IIRC had leather hammers (!!). https://music.apple.com/us/album/brahms-tones-of-romantic-extravagance-piano-quartet/1583521172
My teacher always said of period instruments (probably accurately) that if Beethoven had been offered a modern piano, he’d have thrown his away — and yeah, those Broadwoods are miles behind the Pleyel. But even so, hearing the 111 on something like the instrument he wrote it for, you get the sense that he’s pushing out to the hard limits of the instrument, at the edge of where its sound breaks down…not the sense a modern piano gives!
There’s also the matter of period •tuning•: Chopin wouldn’t have been playing pianos tuned in exactly the equal temperament we’re used to. I’ve found period tuning recordings difficult for my ears to get used to, however!