We're back from RFH and Barenboim's concert and the debut of the Barenboim piano. First, a few background comments. 1) It is difficult to separate the pianist from the piano. 2) The concert was sold out, including a very full audience on the stage, surrounding Barenboim and the piano. We had gotten our tickets a few months ago, but even then there were not a large number of seats left. So we had to sit in the balcony - piano side, fortunately, but very far away, in row J, 5 rows from the very back of the hall. We normally sit in the first 10 rows on the main floor - left center (piano side). 3) We have heard several performances of Schubert Piano Sonatas (the entire contents of this and the following 3 concerts over the coming week by Barenboim) over the past year - including the 3 late sonatas with Richard Goode and one of the later sonatas by Mitsuko Uchida, and one other concert.Two of the three sonatas were then quite familiar to both of us.
Given all that, what I could hear was that Barenboim could play very, very softly and I could hear everything he played. Second there was a very clear tone from the lowest notes to the highest, more than I normally hear, and without the "clang" that I sometimes hear when a piano is played very loud. The piano also isn't as bright sounding as a typical Steinway, although it projected very well, more subtly than a Steinway. It will be interesting to see whether others take up this new piano. In one interview Barenboim said it took him about 10 days to get used to playing this piano, and most concert performers fly in a day or two before a concert - so they wouldn't have time to get used to the feel.
We should be hearing the Fazioli on Sunday - with Angela Hewitt playing, but from much closer - 5th row in a much smaller, more acoustically warm environment, Wigmore Hall.
Larry
NB. I cross posted a very similar review on another website which had a thread on the Barenboim piano
