My Blind Speed-date with Oliver and Bertha

Prior to the recording sessions, I was given the opportunity to try out both of the Glenn Gould Studio pianos: Bertha and Oliver.  Things change, especially regarding pianos that are so well-loved and often-used, so I wanted to be sure I was making the right choice for this Volume 3 recording of Grieg piano music, and not just assuming that since Volume 1 was recorded on Bertha, that I should stick with her.

I asked that the pianos' identities be kept secret from me while I tried them out so that my opinion would not be swayed by any pre-conceived notions.  So, I began with a few preliminary arpeggios for just a minute or two on each piano.  There was no immediate "Aha!" so I continued by playing the same piece on each piano, alternating back and forth between the two instruments.

The one piano ("Piano Number One") seemed to have a more lively personality and a fairly strong bottom end, yet I couldn't quite coax it to sing in the treble the way I had hoped. I know that I usually take about an hour and a half to crack the code of any Steinway I am presented with, so I would not rule out this instrument yet.  It seemed to have plenty of colours available.

The other piano seemed a little reticent at first, but all of a sudden it gave me back an arpeggio that was so exquisite, controlled, and beautiful...at that moment, I started to fall in love.

Then back to the first piano to see where we would go next, and I noticed that I was tensing up in response to some "barking" back at me. Back and forth, back and forth, and still I found my love for "Piano Number Two" growing. It was able to draw me into a more intimate sound, and seemed to be more of a calming personality.

By now quite smitten, I continued to play the entire recording program on Piano Number Two and increasingly felt as though we were becoming friends and that all would be well.  I still had no idea of whether this Piano Number Two was Bertha or Oliver. As I was leaving the GGS when there was no one around to clarify, I actually did not know until I arrived in the morning to start recording that I had in fact chosen Bertha! Again.

The venue and the instrument

Volume One of this series of recordings was recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio in December 2006.  Volume Two was recorded in the sanctuary at St. James Anglican Church in Stratford, where I was Director of Music from 2007-2009.  While the 7' Yamaha piano at St. James is one of my favourite instruments and responds well for the subtleties and colourings of Grieg, and my producer Earl McCluskie was able to create the sonic ambience of a concert hall in that space, the logistical complications of disruption to the church community’s routines and the constant worries regarding traffic noise have led me to the decision to return to the Glenn Gould Studio for Volume Three. 

The primary factor in deciding on location for all three of these recordings is of course the quality of the instrument. The Steinway pianos at the Glenn Gould offer the kind of range of tone and colour that this music deserves.  The excellent care of the pianos there and the fact that the GGS has a tuner-technician on call for the duration of the project, as well as the sound-proof quality of the hall are also great advantages to using that space.  The piano that I used in 2006 is known as  “Bertha” & is a lovely, responsive 1986 Steinway ‘D’ and I assume this will be my choice again.  

Bertha, like many high quality instruments is extremely sensitive. I performed a recital on "her"/it a few years ago, and was shocked at how rough things were sounding and feeling when I arrived for a morning sound-check and short rehearsal.  When I asked what had happened to my beloved piano, I was told that there had been a boogie-woogie concert there the night before.  Bertha had taken on the character of that music and performer. Within half an hour of my playing that morning, Bertha started to sort herself out and settle into the piano I had remembered her to be.  I have had the same experience with the piano at St. James in Stratford.  I once called my tuner in a panic before a concert as the piano was very unresponsive, out-of-tune, and dull sounding. By the time he arrived, after I had played it for an hour or so, there was no longer any panic as the piano had returned to its usual glory. 

Instruments of this kind of quality are for me sheer bliss, and greatly expand the range of possibility and beauty.