First of all, compliments on the forum, it is truly interesting and engaging.
I am an "elderly" graduate of Santa Cecilia who does something else for a living. I have recently resumed piano studies, also in view of four-hand concert performances, but this has definitely triggered family impatience. My upright has a ridiculous key weight (the Steinway remained at my parents' house due to space issues) and studying Liszt, Bach, Busoni, etc., is proving quite complicated.
I have read some posts by TheSimon regarding the Kawai MP11 and Casio Grand Celviano, which were judged adequate for the purposes of serious preparation. I wanted to ask if transitioning from these digitals to a concert grand involves technical difficulties or not: with my current upright, any piano seems hard to me, especially since I haven't yet returned to my youthful levels. As you might have guessed, I am not as interested in the sound as I am in the keyboard.
The keyboard of a digital piano CANNOT necessarily be equal to that of an acoustic one, where there are complex lever systems that cannot fit inside a digital one, precisely to allow for compact dimensions. There are some digitals like the Roland V-Piano that feature a mechanism similar to that of a grand piano, but the cost is definitely prohibitive (6000 euros if I'm not mistaken). Before a concert, it is always advisable to spend a couple of weeks solely on the acoustic piano just to reaccustom the hand to a different keyboard. It must also be said that if one achieves a good level of technical cleanliness and sound on the digital piano, when returning to the acoustic one, one rediscovers a world of nuances that cannot exist on a digital piano and a simplicity of execution. In any case, if possible, I would always recommend not completely abandoning the acoustic piano for assiduous study on a digital one. It is always worth varying and returning to your roots on a good acoustic one.
I was hoping to get by with a good digital piano and then dedicate a couple of hours on the weekend to the Steinway. Perhaps it's time to rearrange the acoustic one, maybe with a silent system, even though I read that the application is problematic
Hi Giulio.. why do you say that installing the Silent is problematic? A while ago there were some kits that weren't bad. Of course, it's a job that I believe must be done by specialized personnel. Anyway, yes... the acoustic is the real piano... I also had a digital and now I would like to get another one due to noise problems, but I always quote my acoustic..
Lucky you having a Steinway... that truly is a real piano....
Well, I've heard conflicting rumors about the post-factory installation. However, they might indeed be related to the technicians' preparation. My main problem at this point is the quality of the piano; I will have to evaluate it carefully. As for the Steinway, every time I manage to play it, I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the sound and end up playing through the entire repertoire without studying. It's a real shame.
A Steinway will always be a Steinway... I played it while preparing for my exams and I didn't think I was the pianist... if the instrument matters or not... instead of bass notes, it has human voices... ha ha... it reminds me of a baritone and a tenor... it has a voice so deep that you can never quite reach the maximum of power or pianissimo... in the end, this is what the pianist works on... the sound matter that they can modify and... the Steinway gives you an immense range... especially something I didn't expect... I use the pedal quite compulsively.... whereas on these pianos, it's tempting to never use the pedal or at least very little, because the sound is so full and round..
For now, I have been exploring YouTube and I saw the Bechstein uprights... they have a truly incredible sound... I found one on sale for 3,900 euros... is that possible? It seems like a joke... I know these uprights start from 10,000 euros..
Anyway, in my opinion, for a pianist, a digital piano should at least have a wooden keyboard with escapement... but as Simone pointed out in other posts, great pieces can be prepared with lower quality things... willpower does everything...
Thanks for the advice. I believe instruments like these are indispensable for sound research, which is fundamental to me. For one thing, I have gotten my hands back on the piano after having dedicated myself to the trumpet, following a sort of epiphany while listening to the latest Michelangeli tackling Chopin—a revelation.
The keyboard of a digital piano CANNOT necessarily be equal to that of an acoustic one, where there are complex lever systems that cannot fit inside a digital one, precisely to allow for "compactness" of dimensions. There are some digitals like the Roland V-Piano that feature a mechanism similar to that of a grand piano, but the cost is definitely prohibitive (6000 euros if I'm not mistaken). Before a concert, it is always advisable to spend a couple of weeks solely on the acoustic piano just to reaccustom the hand to a different keyboard. It must also be said that if one reaches a good level of technical cleanliness and sound on the digital piano, when returning to the acoustic one, one rediscovers a world of nuances that cannot exist on the digital piano and an ease of execution. In any case, if possible, I would always recommend not completely abandoning the acoustic piano for assiduous study on a digital one. It is always wise to vary and return to your roots on a good acoustic.
......unless you spend €15,000 like I did and get the Yamaha Avantgrand N3X, which features the same mechanism as the CFX grand piano. It's beautiful and the mechanism is phenomenal :)
Unfortunately no, the room where I have my piano undergoes too wide temperature variations. If I had an acoustic piano, I would have to have it tuned constantly.
