Classical Music
Related: About this forumGeminiani
Last edited Thu Feb 6, 2025, 03:10 AM - Edit history (1)
Not allowing this egregious stuff transpiring in our environment to "break my soul".Thank you, Beyoncé.

usonian
(16,369 posts)
Francesco X Geminiani is also magnifico!
sprinkleeninow
(20,703 posts)usonian
(16,369 posts)I hooked up the new used Clavinova to the stereo with the vintage Klipsch speakers, and the sound is infinitely better than the built-in speakers.
The number one way to improve your music listening is a set of really good speakers. I have had various headphones, but the good ones are not portable. Bluetooth is a disaster in my book.
I can't recommend anything new. Just spoiled for those very musical speakers.
I got an electronic piano (A Roland) when I was married and my wife worked crazy shifts as a nurse. That was so I could play with headphones on and not make noise. I told her recently why I did that and she said she didn't know --- meaning that the maneuver worked!!!
sprinkleeninow
(20,703 posts)You prompting me to research Clavinova. Similar to what Stevie Wonder played?
usonian
(16,369 posts)I try to read the names on grand pianos, but unless they are emblazoned on the side (I think that Bösendorfer does this) (1) they are hard to see, and electronic keyboards are even harder to identify (unless you're very familiar with them)
Very many look very similar to the old Roland, a keyboard on an "X" frame or on speaker stands.
The Clavinovas that I looked at are all upright or grand models. I lucked on a used one, since the ancient Roland breaks now and then (plastic levers instead of wood, which never seems to break in grands and uprights) so I got a (relaatively) newer Clavinova. It has organ and harpsichord voices, which open up even more repertoire (still way behind on the old pieces). Pieces that I tried are the amazing riff (solo) from Brandenburg Concerto 5, and the familiar Toccata and Fugue in d minor from Bach. (organ), Sorry, Maestro Stokowski, I like the organ sound better than the symphony transcription. But I have unusual preferences.
Many orchestral pieces were originally piano two hands or four hands. Your choice may vary. And vice-versa, I find piano versions of orchestral pieces, some of which are quite fun. In the old days, these were very popular, since there were no recordings or radio, and a piano reduction was how you heard orchestral music at home. There are reductions of Brahms symphonies, which in part, I really like. You know one of them.
I did a search on Clavinovas and they all look incredibly digital, controllable via iPads. I got a CLP-130E which is entirely run by knobs and switches and sliders. Fine by me. If I want anything complex, I can use the MIDI interface. Simple is beautiful. The music is more important to me than the electronics. I found out by looking at videos that every performer seems to have longer fingers than I do. Oh well, I take a few shortcuts.
(1) Live and learn. Bösendorfer is an Austrian piano manufacturer and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. (Wikipedia)