Hello all!  I have read with some interest the postings on the Antheil
concert using Disklaviers.  One thing that struck me was the comments
about pneumatic versus solenoid actions.  I cannot comment on the
Ballet Mecanique concert, since I wasn't there, and webcasting in it's
current form does not allow me to judge the situation, but I can speak
from some experience with my own instruments.

I have a lowly Gulbransen player (recently rebuilt by a very fine
craftsman) that can manufacture ear-shattering notes with the best
of them.  I also have a fairly modest 6-foot Yamaha Disklavier.  My
experience is that while the Gulbransen may be uncomfortable to listen
to at high levels in my "music room", the Disklavier, especially when
being fed with improperly scaled MIDI files, will absolutely drive you
out of the room!

When properly calibrated (a big point), my Disklavier has always
delivered wonderful performances, with all the dynamic range one could
care to have.  I find I cannot pound the dang keyboard as hard as it
can.

So, if George Antheil's composition was not adequate in performance,
I really don't think it was the fault of the Disklavier technology.
More likely it was some kind of setup or execution problem, but who am
I to say?  With all the Disklavier pounding around here, I'm probably
going deaf...

Best Regards,
Jim Hendershot
The Well-Tempered Disklavier
http://www.disklavier.org/