hellomate639 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Yaeh, I say neither: I go Bluthner. : p Preference.

CopsHateMe (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

thx 4 the info :)

moneyjr1122 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

what r u talkin about?

iamthepinkylifter (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

many pianists prefer the high-end yamahas because their tone is punchier and brighter than the stienway's. they're both excellent pianos, it's just a matter of personal preference.

ARRRISTOCHAT (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

And yes, Alkan was influenced by the so called "oriental" fashion which became huge during Louis Philippe and Napoleon III era, along with french colonization of North Africa and South East Asia, as many composers and writers did until 1st WW. It is obvious in many "Esquisses" and "Etudes" pieces.

ARRRISTOCHAT (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Cops, don't forget Alkan composed music for-and with-pianos with MUCH more harmonics than todays Steinways, i.e. with Pleyel and Erard which ruled at the time. They allowed much more space between left and right hands, without sounding "hollow" in the middle. Today's keyboard are desperatly flat-and certainly not relevant for XIXth century music.

CopsHateMe (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

weird how come he doesn't have a steinway and son's?

TheMetzMachine (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I think, to be fair, pian000's comment that he piece "sounds Oriental" likely stems from the interesting modality of the piece. Although Alkan writes it as an etude in F-major, the piece doesn't actually use the major scale. It uses F-Lydian. Modes, often for Western listeners, have the effect of exoticism - since we are so accustomed to hearing major and minor tonalities, and not modes. Frankly, I don't think pian000 is too far off by claiming the piece has an Oriental flavor.

LeeSooMan (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

where can i find this piece played by gibbons on the internet? i wanna download or buy it

ClassicSteinwayJonas (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

he looks like being fast foward but he's not!