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Description:

A newly built replica of Beethoven’s 1803 Erard Frères piano (Orpheus Institute, 2016–present) has allowed for a study of “Frenchness” through the sonic and embodied explorations of a well-known and all-important Viennese pianist-composer. Relevant to the ACTOR mission, the proposed collaborative research built on questions that emerged from a recording on the instrument in 2019, which featured music by Beethoven and French contemporaries Louis Adam and Daniel Steibelt.

On a fundamental level, we asked what differentiated a “French” from a “Viennese” sound; but taking into account the skills of both builder and player, along with the complex affordances of a particular type of instrument, we also asked what made Beethoven a “fast learner” on a new instrument and his Paris-based rival Steibelt an “expert” of a familiar one—one that lent itself well to what in France was known as son continu, or the skill of sustaining or “spinning” sound (which turned Steibelt into a widely recognized champion of the technique of tremolo).

The French Erard piano was contrasted with a Viennese fortepiano by Anton Walter (also a replica, ca. 1800). To first establish a framework of two longstanding traditions, we recorded on each instrument fragments from Mozart (to represent an Austrian tradition) and Clementi (to represent an English/French tradition). We then zoomed in on the period of 1803–05 and a more focused comparison of “Viennese” and “French” with fragments of Beethoven (Op. 53, “Waldstein”) and Steibelt (Op. 64). Organological parameters in need of assessment included the presence of a second soundboard in the Erard (adding an additional layer of vibrations over its “real” soundboard, which is thinner than an English but thicker than a Viennese one) and the sound-reflecting behavior of the lid (which on a Viennese fortepiano was either left closed or taken off altogether).

A multitrack immersive sound recording captured the most characteristic sounds of both instruments in the close and mid-range. Simultaneously acoustical measurements were realized to analyze the origin of the sound waves in different distances. Perceptual analysis of the microphone signals in comparison with the acoustical data collected as well as materials from the pilot project (the recording from 2019) served to describe in detail the timbral characteristics, aiming at shedding light on how organological differences—strengthened by distinct manners of composing and playing—manifest themselves and how the early sound reflections contribute to the sonic character of two building and playing styles. 

In parallel to these recordings, the room acoustic conditions (reverberation time, STI, C80, etc.) were captured using impulse response measurements and other standardized methods. We investigated the specific properties of the instruments using acoustic measurement techniques such as an acoustic camera (Visor from Head Acoustics) to visualize the sound radiation, along with laser scanning vibrometry (PDV-100 from Polytec) to analyze the vibration of the strings.

Conference presentations and a peer-reviewed paper resulted, and educational material was developed.