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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
I would like to welcome everyone in joining the festivities of a piano gathering sponsored by Larry Buck at his piano shop in Lowell, MA.
Planning to be in attendance at our next gathering will be Marc Wienert. Marc was the tech responsible for the preparation of the piano used at Zenpth Studio's 2006 re-performance of Glenn Goulds recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Marc currently is in charge of the Piano Technical Services at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC. Marc was also the initial inspiration for Perri Knize's book, Grand Obsession , based on his expertise in piano voicing.
Larry has confirmed the attendance of Herr Hannes Schimmel-Vogel, President of Schimmel. Herr Vogel will be visiting from Germany and is pleased the gathering can be coordinated with his visit.
I'd also like to welcome Michael Frederick from the Frederick Historical Piano Center Ashburnham, MA. This will be Mike's first time joining us at Larry's shop. His wife, Patricia, will be holding down the fort at the study center for any visitors who might be planning to stop by. Pat & Michael's dedication to their pianos and the guests who come to visit has always been a top priority.
All the other celebrities in attendance will be those of you who have attended past gatherings and have helped in creating the muscial friendship we all share. Come and join this gathering with your friends and family and enjoy the opportunity to mingle and exchange conversation in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
To all of you who have never attended one of our local events, come and see what it's all about!!!!
It should promise to place a warm spot in your heart to last the entire chilly winter season!
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Marc was the tech responsible for the preparation of the piano used at Zenpth Studio's 2006 re-performance of Glenn Goulds recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Marc currently is in charge of the Piano Technical Services at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC. Marc was also the initial inspiration for Perri Knize's book, Grand Obsession, based on his expertise in piano voicing.
marc is an amazing guy, very articulate and original in his thinking about pianos. getting to hear him talk about his work is an opportunity that should not be missed.
that zenph studios glenn gould recording is also amazing. ask marc to explain to you all what he did to prepare that piano for that recording.
larry and terry, might i suggest that you have marc play some of that recording, then contrast it by playing some of the original 1955 recording, and ask marc to talk about what is happening that is different, both in technical and musical terms, and how he achieved that.
now THAT should be interesting!
i so wish i could be there, but the publisher has placed an embargo on my appearances until january. i do hope to do another lowell, mass., event with you guys next spring (if i'm invited!)
btw marc and i are going to do a presentation together at the nyc pianothon in january, when the first edition of "grand obsession" is finally in our hands. marc is a major character in my book, and in fact he was the inspiration for writing it.
when you hear him talk about pianos, you will understand how he could have inspired an entire book!
It's interesting, I have known Marc Wienert now for a little over a year.
His skill in voicing is stunning. Sure put me back a step.
I have also known of Perri's book and journey for the last couple of years.
It is only the last month that I knew that Marc was the "technician" responsible for igniting the passion in Perri regarding pianos. What a moment that was when I realized that ...! Small World.
Without meeting Perri, but knowing Marc the way I do now, adds tremendous perspective to the things Perri has been saying here on PW.
Thank You Perri for your interest in coming to Lowell this spring. I look forward to working together in planning a date.
Marc's accomplishments are lengthy and significant. I hope folks make it to Lowell on Dec 1st and meet him.
It will be nice to meet up with everyone here from PW, it is always a most enjoyable time.
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Sorry I cannot attend - I just wanted to stick my nose into this thread.
Rich... we are delighted to have you come and poke around anytime on our gathering thread!! Would be even more delighted to have you actually come up and join us sometime!
I returned home moments ago from a sort of mini vacation although I only went as far as NH! It's great to see we've had a few new responses.
GlennGouldGirl...Welcome to PW! Good to see you found out about the gathering. We'll be looking forward to meeting you!
Ed & Roberta... Welcome home!! I'll certainly be looking forward to your visit. Anyone else from the Cape you'd care to invite, please ask them to join us.
Frank... hope your sister is still planning to join the gathering.
I'll get some emails off to those of you who have inquired about food item contributions.
Thanks to those of you who have posted your attendance response; much appreciated!
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
This is going to be another great PW gathering! I'd love to attend, but my Hubby and I are enmeshed in obligations right now.
It's great to see posts here from familiar members. Hi, Pique! Remember me? Your book is out? Congratulations! I'm buying a copy for sure! Hi, Rich - howya doing? And Hi, Terry and John and - well, I'm not going to name ALL of you...
And I see there are quite a few new members coming (at least "new" to me).
Have a great time, everyone! I'll be watching this space for posts and pictures.
- Jeanne W
Music is about the heart and so should a piano be about the heart. - Pique
I'd like to stop in for a quick, "Hi" (my daughter and I will be in Lowell for a birthday party). The party is at 2:00 - just curious how long you think people will be there...
Kawai MP5 / Ivory Italian Grand C.C. Harvey 52" Upright Grand Yamaha M202 Console
JeffBC... Please don't hesitate to stop by with your daughter.
I don't know about other guests but I am planning to be there for more than a few hours. Larry is a true party person and will be delighted to keep his shop open as long as guests remain in attendance.
I'd like to make everyone aware of the 4-5 flights of stairs that are involved before arriving at the piano shop on the top level.
If you require the assistance of an elevator, please be sure to contact Larry and advise an approximate time of your arrival. As a backup POC, you can email/pm me and I'll provide you with my cellphone number.
Well, I'm still hoping to come. wife isn't feeling well but we'll see in the morning if she's okay to leave alone or not. I know when I'm sick TollHouse Cookies always make me feel better! And when I'm not sick, they make me feel just GREAT . . . Let's see, John should be baking right about now . . .
PianoPerfection Teacher, performer, technician Westchester County, NY
We just got home. What a fun time! Lots of good food and good company, not to mention wonderful music! Very interesting talk by Herr Vogel- he talked about the history of the company, their philosophy and such. And the Schimmel K230T was a nice, nice grand- very shiny!! And a beautiful sound, no matter what was played on it- classical, jazz, whatever, it sounded lovely. We have some pictures, but they will wait till I can get them off the camera and edited for posting. A day or two...
Oh, and BTW, Frank- I DID play the Schimmel! And I have the picture to prove it!!!! LOL
-Mak
1889 Mason & Hamlin screwstringer upright Kawai MP-4 digital
--------------------------- When life hands you lemons, throw them back and add some of your own. Stupid life.
Herr Vogel, Pres of Schimmel, and delightful, is 2nd from the left
Herr Vogel honoring Axtremus for his wonderful performance, and Ax bowing in honor of Herr Vogel's Schimmel pianos
Marc Weinert (of Pique's 'Grand Obsession' book) prepped the new 230 Schimmel grand
Is this unique or what? Just how many piano parties have their own Glass Harmonica being shared? And we got to try it too! Ethereal!
Pat Frederick from the Frederick Historical Piano Center Ashburnham, MA. and John Citron discuss a piece John just played. Pat played one of my favorites - Schumann's Arabeske.
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything."
Well, it was another great gathering at Larry's place!
It was fun to see so many new faces, and always a pleasure to see old friends.
As usual, the food was wonderful and the company even better. And of course there was lots of live music :-)
I'm not sure how many people there were all together, as people kept coming and going all afternoon, and they kept wandering around Larry's shop (it's a big place).
I'd guess there were somewhere around 40-50 people total.
I'll caption a few of the pictures below, but I'm terrible at names so someone else may have to jump in and rescue me.
It was a real treat meeting the special guests, including Marc Wienert "The Voicer" in Perri Knize's new book, Grand Obsession and Hannes Schimmel-Vogel President of Schimmel, along with the Schimmel rep (who's name escapes me), and the wonderful folks at Darrell's Music in NH (who provided the piano).
I also enjoyed chatting with Pat Frederick of the Frederick Historical Piano Collection (you gotta see/hear this collection). It seems the collection is still growing, yikes!
The beautiful Schimmel Grand
Our Harmonium Concert
Pat plays the Schimmel
Part of the audience listening to Pat
Another audience shot, this time I think they were listening to John Citron
Axtremus gives the piano a good workout (sounded great)
Herr Vogel talks about his families involvement in the Schimmel piano business, and about his pianos.
JazzManToo does his thing. I'm jealous, I love jazz piano!
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
It is always so much fun to have these gatherings.
Frank, The Schimmel Rep's name is Glenn Clutter.
Thank You Terrytunes and Stevetunes, Ed and Roberta Lang, as well as everyone who brought food and Spirit.
It was great to meet Pat Fredrickson and talk about her efforts at the Museum. Pat brought along some pictures and history for people to see and read.
It was a pleasure to meet Hannes Schimmel-Vogul. He is a gentleman and very knowledgeable.
Thank You to Marc Wienert, whom I have had the pleasure to get to know over more than the last year. It is interesting to work with him on projects. He helps bring fabulous results to everything he touches. Funny, no shortcuts! Dedication, hard work and time spent to achieve his results.
Below are a few pictures. Coming In just a bit
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain
Before Larry adds his pictures, I'd like to add a special thanks to TerryTunes.
Thanks Terry for all your usual help in organizing things and setting up the food presentations, for creating the PWPF members badges, and for the wonderful "home-made baked from scratch" birthday cake.
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Thanks,Frank... The cake is comical enough but if you could have seen me frosting it around noontime with a frosting bag that sprung a leak... well, let's just say it wasn't funny at the time! :rolleyes:
All the piano gatherings and events I've attended the last few years have added such a wonderful new chapter to my life. Each one has been an absolute joy to experience and an opportunity I hope to convince more members to experience.
I didn't get a chance to capture a pic of all the PW members who attended their first gathering. I hope you all enjoyed your first visit and will come back often.
This was an extremely active gathering between the lovely lady who entertained us with the glass harmonica, along with Marc having the Glenn Gould cd setup for our listening pleasure and providing further info on the cd along with one other he surprised us with!
Trying to keep up with everyone's playing in the performance room, and especially delighted with Pat Frederick visiting this event along with having the chance to chat with her is always a wonderful experience.
Meeting Hannes Schimmel-Vogel at our event and having him be a part of this gathering along with having the Schimmel 230 brought in for our playing pleasure was a generous bonus. Thanks so much to the folks at Darrell's Music Store in NH for making this piano available.
And if you should be reading this Marc, a very special thank you for the time spent on voicing this beautiful instrument. What a pleasure to meet you and to have had the opportunity to have you share your joy of piano voicing with all of us. I certainly will be looking forward to you joining us for many more memorable gatherings and hopefully with Connie taking the journey with you for our next event.
Donna R taking a turn on the glass harmonica
first time to our gatherings; sepstein! totally enjoyed your performance!
Frank Baxter - Our very own and talented Mr PianoWorld cranking up the volume and enjoying his time at the Schimmel. I don't think Frank has ever missed one of our gatherings.
One more pic from the performance room.
Oh, and Mr Larry Buck... making this gathering and all others possible has been an enormous effort on your part.
At one time in my life I never could have imagined the excitement of a piano event.
Thanks for all the joyful memories these gatherings have created in my life.
And BTW, a total pleasure meeting Ruth and the rest of the crew!
hi, jeanne! not only do i remember you i quoted you in the book!
any chance you can make it to the new york events on january 11 and 12?
looks like a wonderful time, larry and terry. i'm so sorry i wasn't able to make it. i look forward to meeting you in nyc in january and visiting your shop in the spring.
Originally posted by Larry Buck: Funny thing, There were more people standing aside than in the Piano World photo ... Any ideas Frank?
I noticed that too Larry. I tried to get them to join us but they said something about their pictures already being on the post office wall.
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Of course, My son Brian ..
It was a pleasure meeting Brian. He plays piano, drums, and guitar, and plays in a band. And best of all, he likes the music of the 60's and 70's (good choice Brian).
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And , Frank, Taking my recently rebuilt Steinway B, still being finished, for a test ride.
Larry asked me to check out the B. I figured I play a few chords and be done. Wrong. I loved the piano, didn't want to stop playing it.
Now let's see, if I move the couch in the breezeway ...
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
I have to say that there were 2 things that struck me when Herr Vogel was giving his talk. The first was how much a family company they are. Not only in that the comapny is still owned and run by the original family, but so many of their employees are 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations of working for the company. Herr Vogel said that everyone knows everyone else and it is really a family feeling. I thought that was great, especially in this day and age where many people don't even know (or barely know) the name of the person who works next to them.
The second thing was when he was talking about the more unusual pianos they have built, like the transparent piano and the Pegasus. I know a lot of people don't like them, but Herr Vogel said they enjoy the challenge of doing something innovative. He also said that while they do enjoy doing them, they truly are meant to be showpieces and that the main focus of the company is on their more "normal" pianos like the gorgeous K230 he was standing in front of.
Just a couple things that stuck in my mind.
-Mak
1889 Mason & Hamlin screwstringer upright Kawai MP-4 digital
--------------------------- When life hands you lemons, throw them back and add some of your own. Stupid life.
May I add my thanks to all responsible for making the event so enjoyable. I'm very glad I attended. Listening to - and playing - both the Schimmel and Larry's almost completed Steinway B was a great pleasure, as was the company, food, libations, and the ghost of Art Tatum.
I wanted to thank Larry and Terry for inviting me to my first PW event. It was great to finally meet many of the folks from the forum in person (Terrytunes/Lilylady) and of course Mr Pianoworld Frank B. I had no idea previously I was so close to the epicenter of Pianoworld and hope to make it to other events in the future.
Larry's Steinway B was really impressive as was his discussion on rebuilding. The Schimmel 230 sounded amazing- was really right up there among the best I've ever heard (no doubt a combination of great instrument and great prep by Marc Weinert, Larry, and Darrell's Music Hall) and the talk by Herr Vogel was quite informative. The Schimmel had amazing dynamic range and it had both color and evenness of tone throughout the registers. Anyway, thanks PW members and all above for putting this on, Danielou
This was one of the best piano parties I've attended. The performances by everyone were really great. Hey Terry Tunes. Your Chopin sounds really great. Good job there!
It was wonderful to meet the creator of my Vogel 177T! The long family tradition is evident in both the Vogel and its bigger cousins.
The Schimmel 230 was a really wonderful piano, and perhaps I could some day 'upgrade' to the bigger piano. I kept thinking about it on my way home that night.
John
Current works in progress:
Beethoven Sonata Op. 10 No. 2 in F, Haydn Sonata Hoboken XVI:41, Bach French Suite No. 5 in G BWV 816
Current instruments: Schimmel-Vogel 177T grand, Roland LX-17 digital, and John Lyon unfretted Saxon clavichord.
Wow, what an awesome party! I'm sorry to have missed it! Wonderful guests. Interesting discussions. Great pianos. Even a glass harmonium! I recall from recordings the glass harmonium as sounding very ethereal. I've never heard one in person though. That certainly would have been a treat. Let alone the piano music!
Aside to Pique (if you're reading this): You remember me? And quoted me in your book? What - WHAT was it I said? NO! Don't tell, me, I'm going to have to read your book to find out! You asked about New York in January? Hmmm.... Well, I'll have to see, but can't promise.
Jeanne W
Music is about the heart and so should a piano be about the heart. - Pique
Wow, Looks like a great turnout and a great time. The 230T is a beautiful instrument. Glad to see it gettting some exposure. I hope a party of such caliber is soon thrown out near my way. Hint hint?
B
Schimmel 213 NWS, Yamaha MOTIF XS8, Roland RDX700, Roland Jupiter 6, Akai S3000XL sampler (just for fun)