Forwarded Message:

• From: rumsong@cadvision.com     To: ALL                       Orig: MBNET
 Subj: Re: double-piano?         Area: 0-sic.makers.piano      Date: 01/05/96
=============================================================================
•bc@bitstream.net (Bill Carrothers) wrote:
>
> I've always been curious if anyone has ever made or heard of two
> pianos being put one on top of the other with the keys offset so that
> both keyboards could be played at once, like an organ. Would be very
> interesting to, say, tune the two pianos a quarter-tone apart and then
> learn how to play it. Anyone ever heard of that being tried?
>
> Bill Carrothers
> "Ninety percent of this game is half mental."
>                           -Yogi Berra-

There have been numerous attempts to put multiple keyboards on pianos.
Liszt had a three keyboard piano, with pedals built which has survived
and now exists in a state of disrepair(?) in Vienna. Liszt also had a
piano and harmonium combined (instrument now in Budapest).

I found an ad for a concert in the 1880s or so, of a double piano with
the range reversed --one keyboard went higher in pitch to the right,
and the other went down in pitch the the right. I presume it was a
failure!

However, the Hungarian composer and pianist Emanuel Moor, perfected
a double keyboard piano with octave coupler mechanism.  One keyboard
is offset by an octave, and, in later versions, the lower keyboard
slopes upward, hence it is possible to play chromatic glissandi.

There is only one set of strings and you can couple the keyboards so
that playing one key will produce and octave sound.  The coupler is
engaged by a pedal.

About 150(?) pianos were built by various companies.

There is an article in praise of this instrument by Donald
Francis Tovey, a biography of Moor by Max Pirani and a detailed
book on the mechanism and history of the instrument by Herbert(?)
Shead.  Groves has the bibliography under Moor and in the instrument
dictionary. Check there for details.

Not many pianists have taken it up, but three stellar musicians did
or have.

First, Gunnar Johansen (1906-1991) recorded the complete works of Bach
using a Moor double keyboard piano.  Johansen actually had two of these
instruments, including a 9 foot concert grand version.  Johansen also
recorded some Bach-Busoni transcriptions using this piano.  Johansen's
performance of the St. Anne's Prelude and Fugue is titanic. Johansen's
recordings are still available from Artist Direct, Blue Mounds,
Wisconsin 53517. (Careful, though, these are not CDs and the Bach
series was recorded in the 1950s -- medium-fi and not modern performance
style.)

Second, is Gyorgy Sandor, great Hunngarian pianist and student of Bartok
now on faculty at Julliard, who actually gave his New York debut
on this instrument.  He is a strong proponent of the instrument for
ALL music, including Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin! Sandor insists that
the possibilities of tone color ar greatly enhanced by the double
keyboard and octave coupler system.  I once asked him if he wanted
to write an article about this and he said "It needs a BOOK!"

Third, is Larry Sitsky who has composed a Fantasy for double keyboard
(he has one at the University he teaches at) which has been recorded
and was reviewed very well by Steve Ellis in a recent issue of Fanfare.
It's a powerful composition that reminded Ellis of Nancarrow.

Hope this is of interest and feel free to email me if I can help any
further.

Gordon Rumson