LOS ANGELES CHAPTER
January Meeting: Multi-Chapter Meeting - Special Date and Time
Date:
Monday, January 28, 2019
Time: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm - Technical presentation
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Coffee Break
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm - Student & Faculty Presentation & Performances
(technicians welcome to attend)
Location: The Colburn School - Thayer Hall
200 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 621-2200
Free Parking:
Outdoor parking lots off 2nd and Olive and the other is on 2nd and Hill. Both on
east side of the street, labeled Colburn Parking Lots, operated by Athena
Parking.
Special Guests: Fanny & Alban Steingraeber
Guest Speaker: Alexander
Kerstan, Production Manager for Steingraeber & Sons
Steingraeber & Söhne has been making uprights and grand pianos in the Wagner Festival city of Bayreuth since 1852. At present, the family owned business has thirty-five employees who produce top quality handcrafted instruments. Advancements in the construction of world-class instruments are the result of the continuous desire to innovate. Internationally recognized artists play Steingraeber pianos, which are regularly crowned with prizes throughout the world. Udo Steingraeber represents the sixth generation of Steingraeber piano builders. He has led the company since 1980.
Following the NAMM show, they will bring a concert grand piano E-272 with
Sordino and Mozart rail and a chamber concert grand piano C-212 with Transducers
to the Colburn School for our special presentation. The Mozart Rail is an
adjustable key dip from 8-10 mm. Historic touch as it was 200 years ago,
Steingraeber published the Mozart Rail® in autumn 2014. It reduces the touch
depth in grand pianos down to 8 mm and hammer distance to the strings down to 36
mm. This makes softer pppp playing and faster repetition possible.The key-dip
became deeper and deeper through three hundred years of piano history; starting
under 5 mm it went down to more than 10 mm today - a real challenge for
pianists!
.
The Mozart Rail is available in two different versions: a
knee lever to use it while playing or a hand rail to adjust it between 8 and 10
mm before starting to play.
The Sordino function can be released in different ways, e.g. in a fourth pedal, as knee lever or in the middle pedal, rendering the sostenuto pedal temporarily inoperative, as Jura Margulis designed it. Jura Margulis commented: "The Margulis-Steingraeber Sordino Pedal (MSSP) represents a quantum leap in terms of the expressive palette of the modern grand piano, both in terms of dynamics and the entire colour spectrum." So it is hardly necessary to point out that the above-mentioned celeste pedal has nothing to do with modern devices for soft playing, such as neighbor "protection" devices, also called "mufflers", that are often installed in pianos nowadays.
The first Transducer grand piano was presented on May 20, 2017 in Stuttgart's Liederhalle at a concert involving artists from the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. The concert was titled, "Self-playing and alternately tuned pianos …how modern technology can creatively expand the artistic possibilities of classic pianos. The transducers also provide access to a variety of piano temperaments. For further information, please go to www.steingraeber.de.
In December, another great confabulation for the holidays for the LA Chapter. We met at Precision Piano, the shop of Franco Skilan. Franco and Joanna hosted a wonderful party as usual. We also had David Weaver provide a live band (Steve Welch, Nando Raio, Felipe Fraga) that played superbly, along with fellow member, Mark Schmidt, on the vibraphones. Mark Greisen sang one of his hit tunes, "Give Me a Steinway," which may need to be retitled, "Give Me a Used Steinway Properly Rebuilt by a PTG Member Using a New Decal and Whatever Good Parts Available."
A special treat was when Isaac Sadigursky sat down in a chair with his accordion and played requests. It was quite amazing to hear him play any song requested WITH FEELING. He is truly an expert with that instrument. The culinary delights seemed endless. A favorite was the ambrosia fruit salad of the ever-expanding waistline. Too many dishes to list here but, hopefully, next year (if you missed it this year) you will join us.
Also, in January - PTG at NAMM, January 24-27, 2019
The PTG and the
National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) are pleased to announce an
agreement that will allow all PTG Members to attend the 2019 NAMM Show held
January 24-27 in Anaheim, CA. To register for a free badge, you must be a
current PTG Member. You'll need a digital version of your PTG membership or
business card, or other document establishing your professional credentials as a
piano technician and PTG Member. Use Promo Code PTG2019. To register as a PTG
member, click this link:
registration.experientevent.com/showamm191/flow/NONM#/registrant//Dashboard.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!